


Days of Dark

by magnusragnor, ohprongs



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: AU, Angst, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Human AU, Hurt/Comfort, Law Student!Alec, M/M, Malec AU, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Neighbors, Pre Relationship, Scientist!Magnus, Slow(ish) Burn, Spidey!Alec, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2018-12-08 14:00:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 97,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11648004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnusragnor/pseuds/magnusragnor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohprongs/pseuds/ohprongs
Summary: Alec clutches the worn out comic book in his hands, his eyes sweeping over Captain America’s stance on the cover. He still remembers how excited Max had been when he’d gotten it, going on and on about how Captain America helped people, how he just wanted to stop the bullies - how he was ahero.Staring down at the star on Cap’s shield, Alec pushes away all his anger and grief, focussing on the single most ridiculous idea he’s ever had. He can hear Hodge's voice, clear as day:“With great power, comes great responsibility.”(or, thethe amazing spider-manish au)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi we're smelle and charl and we done wrote a fic this is our Baby and we hope you love it!! 
> 
> _“the / mercy of perfect sunlight after days // of dark, will climb; will blossom: will sing (like / april’s own april and awake’s awake)”_ \- e. e. cummings, from _precisely as unbig a why as i’m,_
> 
> ALSO: a huge thank you to actual angel [ceci](http://daddariossmile.tumblr.com) for being an amazing beta! we love you to the moon and back <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **tw:** there's a vivid description of spiders towards the end of the chapter in case they're not ur kinda thing!! stay safe gang xo
> 
> writing highlights of ch1:  
> 
> 
>   * "This transition is gonna be wack as hell love me anyway thanks WOW I CANNOT TRANSITION THIS @ME UR A FUCKING WRITER" - elle, 2017
>   * "maybe insert an adjective of some sort" - elle, 2017
>   * “alec is v gay and betrayed” - charley, 2017
>   * “we’re serious writeres!!!” - charley, 2017
> 

> 
> disclaimer: the authors are not responsible for any ~~correct~~ opinions given about game of thrones

****_“We’re so close to figuring this out. We’re almost there, and you’re leaving us now?”_

_“I have other obligations. You wouldn’t understand what that’s like, would you?”_

_“You promised me. You made a vow to this company, to this operation. You and Robert are essential tools. Reconsider, Maryse. You know you will face repercussions if you don’t.”_

_“And you know I can ruin your entire empire with one phone call. I’ve weighed my options. I’ve made my choice.”_

_____

“Did you know we have the biggest science research facility in the entire East Coast? The _entire East Coast_.”

Alec hums into the cell phone that’s currently tucked between his ear and his shoulder, a smile on his face. Izzy’s excitement over her new internship is contagious, and Alec is nothing if not proud of his baby sister. He toys with the keys in his hand, listening to Izzy ramble on about the job’s perks and all the famous researchers she’s met so far in her first week at Idris Corp.

“Anyway, there’s this really cool Italian place two blocks away. They make this amazing homemade pasta and it’s _so_ good,” Izzy tells him. “I usually take my lunch break at one if you wanna stop by on Monday? I can show you around my floor. You’d love it, Alec - the view from the city up here is beautiful.”

Alec is about to respond when he hears footsteps behind him, coming up the squeaky stairs. He doesn’t need to turn around to know it’s Magnus Bane, his stupidly gorgeous neighbor with dark nails and elegant poise, who Alec may or may not have been crushing on since Magnus moved in six months ago.

“Uh, yeah, Iz, that sounds -”

Alec glances behind him. Magnus has stopped outside his own front door, opposite Alec’s, and when he sees Alec looking at him he flashes him a smile.

_Hi_ , Magnus mouths, eyes darting to Alec’s cell.

“Hey,” Alec says, a little breathless, but who wouldn’t be with Magnus smiling at them like that? “How was your day?”

Magnus lifts an eyebrow. “Fine, thank you,” he says politely, adjusting his brown leather bag over his shoulder, “although I’m glad it’s Friday. You?”

Alec just nods, smiling at Magnus as he disappears inside his apartment. He waits for a moment until he’s certain that Magnus isn’t going to reappear, then groans dramatically and slumps against his own front door.

“Alec,” Izzy says, “what was that?”

“Shut up,” Alec tells his sister half heartedly, fiddling with his key until he can unlock his door. “You know I can’t talk to hot guys.”

“No,” Izzy laughs, “I know you can’t talk to _that_ hot guy. He’s something special, huh?”

Alec doesn’t have time to answer before Magnus’ door is opening again. Magnus rests casually against the door frame, a move that makes his shirt pull tightly across his arms, and Alec drags his eyes away, berating himself for being such a creep.

“Are you doing anything this weekend, Alexander?” Magnus asks.

“This weekend?” Alec tries to mentally pull up his schedule, but his brain has rather short circuited at being called Alexander, as it usually does whenever Magnus says his name like that. “Uh, no, I don’t think so. Why?”

“We have new episodes of Game of Thrones to hate watch,” Magnus says, fiddling with the snake ear cuff hugging the shell of his ear. “Wanna get takeout and binge it at mine tomorrow evening? We still haven’t tried that tapas bar on Broome Street.”

“Yeah, that sounds fun,” says Alec, grinning and trying to hide the way his heart is thudding happily in his chest. “Is six okay? I’ll bring the wine.”

“Six is fine.” Magnus scrunches his nose. “Just don’t bring another bottle of Cabernet. Red wine is -”

“- the devil’s blood, yeah, I remember,” Alec says, with a huff of laughter. He gives Magnus a little wave. “I won’t, I promise. See you tomorrow.”

He kind of forgets about everything else until Izzy’s saying his name in his ear and he realises he’s been staring at Magnus’ now closed door with a dopey smile on his face for the past minute.

“So,” Izzy says, sounding highly amused, “you’re Netflix and chilling with your hot neighbor minus the chill, _again_?”

“Shut up,” Alec says again, this time with a groan. He opens the door and walks inside the apartment, tossing his keys onto the kitchen counter. “It’s not like that, we’re just _friends_.”

“Are you _still_ denying the sexual tension between the two of you, Alec?” Jace’s voice shouts from the next room, and Alec shushes him loudly.

Jace wanders into the living room just in time for Alec to grab a cushion off the couch and toss it at his brother’s head.

“You know he only lives across the hall, right? Do you have to be so loud?”

Alec dodges the cushion as Jace throws it back and collapses on the couch.

“He likes you too, you idiot,” Jace says, plopping down on the couch next to him.

“You know, it’d be great if both of you would stop discussing my love life, thank you,” Alec replies, narrowing his eyes at his brother as Izzy huffs over the phone.

Jace pulls a face. “Not much of a love life to discuss,” he teases.

“Iz, I’ve gotta go - I need to beat up our menace of a brother.”

“Have fun! I’ll see you on Monday,” Izzy says, and Alec can picture her fond eye roll.

As Alec puts his phone on the table and faces Jace, his brother lifts a finger up and gives him a deadly stare.

“If you fuck up my hair right now so help me God, Alec,” Jace threatens. “I’ve always been more athletic than you. Besides, you sure you wanna get into a fight with a PE teacher?”

Alec sits back down and crosses his arms over his chest, smiling at Jace.

“Well, we all know you’re not the brains of the family,” Alec responds, as Jace whacks his arm with an offended gasp. Alec laughs as Jace makes himself comfortable on the other side of the couch.

“Hodge called, by the way. He wants us to come over for dinner sometimes next week. Apparently Max thinks he’s good enough at FIFA now to whoop our asses.”

Alec heaves a put upon sigh. “Remember when all we cared about was getting the latest video games?” Alec says, his tone exaggeratedly wistful. Jace nods solemnly in agreement for a minute, then realises Alec is messing with him and shoves his arm.

“You’re such an ass,” Jace laughs, and Alec chuckles.

“Did Hodge say anything else?” Alec asks.

Jace shrugs. “Not really,” he says. “He wondered if either of us were free to help clean out the attic on Tuesday, but since I’m at work I volunteered you for the job. I didn’t even know that house had an attic.”

Alec laughs, shrugging. “Neither did I. Who knows, maybe there’ll be some skeletons up there. I’ll give him a call tomorrow.”

After a pointed silence, Jace hums, scratching at a spot on the couch with his nail. “Yeah, he did mention it’s been awhile since you two spoke. It sounded like he’d appreciate you checking in.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “We’re not kids anymore,” he says, the air shifting to something more tense. “And he’s not our dad.”

“ _Alec_ ,” Jace says earnestly, “he’s always done his best for us.”

“Yeah, whatever. It’s fine, I said I’ll call him,” Alec says shortly, refusing to meet Jace’s eyes.

The worst part is Alec knows Jace is right. Hodge has tried to be the best father figure he could, ever since that night.

Even though Jace and Izzy are only two years younger than Alec, they seem to have forgotten almost everything about their parents, whether they wanted to or not. They don’t remember the sweet, comforting scent of their mother’s hair or the way their dad would always check under the bed for monsters.

Alec holds onto those memories like an anchor.

And Max? It doesn’t surprise him that Max has replaced their parents with Hodge. He was only a baby when it happened. So Alec can’t blame his siblings for it. He guesses they just have different ways of coping.

Alec doesn’t even hate Hodge. He hates the memories that haunt him, the way he remembers that night like it was yesterday, and he hates the people who turned him and his siblings into orphans.

He stares at his fingers, letting a silence wash over them. He can feel Jace’s body tense next to his, and Alec finally  looks up and nudges Jace with his elbow until his brother smiles.

“What happened to that promise of lasagna?” Alec asks. “I’m starving.”

Jace makes a big show of getting up off the couch, complaining loudly about lazy brothers. Alec just smiles and rests his head on the back of the couch, listening to the familiar sound of Jace humming as he cooks for the two of them and letting the delicious smell of his favorite dish fill the apartment.

_____

There’s something fluttering in Alec’s tummy when he knocks on Magnus’ door the next evening. A gentle hum of excitement threads through him, and when Magnus opens the door, Alec momentarily forgets how to breathe.

Magnus is standing in the doorway, dressed down in a simple black Henley and dark jeans. He looks a little less imposing than usual, more relaxed. Alec always counts himself lucky whenever Magnus lets him see this intimate side of himself.

“Alec,” he says with a smile, “come in.”

Magnus takes the bottle of cava from Alec’s outstretched hand with a look of pleasant surprise.

“Apparently it goes with tapas,” Alec says, feeling like it deserves an explanation. He doesn’t want to go into the hour of research he’d done online before he went out to buy it, hoping to redeem himself in Magnus’ eyes. He might not be much of a drinker himself, but he knows it’s something Magnus has a taste for.

“Well, I look forward to finding out,” Magnus says, gesturing for Alec to enter the apartment.

While Jace and Alec’s place is more modern and sleek, Magnus’ has a comfortable homey feel to it that Alec has always admired. Every element of his apartment is carefully selected, and it all comes together in a perfect harmony that compliments Magnus himself. Each time he’s there, Alec always finds something new to ask about, and every answer makes him like Magnus that much more.

Magnus disappears into the kitchen, and Alec follows him once he’s slipped out of his shoes. The kitchen is possibly Alec’s favourite room in Magnus’ apartment, filled with signs of life, from the half-finished grocery list on the fridge door to the amazing smells that always emanate from pots simmering away on top of the Aga.

He’s lost count of the number of times he’s been round at Magnus’, breathless with laughter as he helps Magnus prepare food. Sometimes they forget about watching TV altogether and just enjoy cooking and eating together. The long, cosy nights where the two of them talk for hours, legs tangled together under Magnus’ table, are the ones Alec keeps tucked away in his heart.

The countertop is littered with empty paper bags, the tupperware containers from within lying on top of them, filled with food and ready to be eaten.

“You know, the delivery person turned up five minutes early and I nearly started without you,” Magnus confesses, as he lifts the lid off one of the tubs and breathes in deeply.

Alec makes a mock-offended sound and helps Magnus serve the various tapas dishes into little bowls.

“But the important thing to take away is that I _didn’t_ ,” Magnus tells him, and Alec sends him an unimpressed look. Magnus just laughs happily.

They take the food out onto Magnus’ balcony, the spring night’s breeze pleasantly cool. While Alec’s apartment faces south, looking out over Battery Park with the Statue of Liberty just visible in the far distance, Magnus’ apartment looks north, into the depths of Manhattan. There’s probably some kind of symbolism there, what with how Alec’s apartment faces the calm of the water and Magnus’ faces the rush of the city, but Alec doesn’t care which view they choose, because he ends up looking at Magnus for the entire night regardless.

He’s pretty sure Magnus’ smile could light up the whole city.

As Alec opens the wine, Magnus launches easily into telling Alec about his day, how he’d gone to meet his mom for lunch in Long Island. Alec knows Magnus tries to visit his mom as much as he can, and even though they’ve never explicitly discussed it, he’s fairly sure Magnus’ father isn’t in the picture.

Alec tells him about his classes as they eat, complaining about his international business law professor giving them an assignment due for the next week at short notice.

“You know, for someone who wants to be a lawyer, you seem to complain about law a lot,” Magnus observes, amused.

Alec shrugs. “Mom was a lawyer, and she would have wanted me to honor the Lightwood name, I think. I want to make her proud.”

Magnus sends him a smile; not the usual one he gets from people when he mentions his parents, but one that’s soft and genuine.

“Is the assignment stressing you out?” Magnus asks, concerned, as he takes a sip of wine.

Alec looks unfazed. “The class is actually pretty easy, it’s just a pain in my ass. Why?”

Magnus shrugs. “I heard you talking to someone when I got back from my mom’s earlier. You didn’t sound too happy.”

“Oh,” Alec says. He looks down at his plate, pushing his food around with his fork as he furrows his eyebrows. “No, that’s not - that was family drama. Nothing major.”

The phone call with Hodge had been tense to say the least.

Alec and Hodge had drifted apart ever since Alec moved out of their old house and into the apartment with Jace. Alec tries his best, but it’s never been easy; they’re always on different pages. Alec loves Hodge and is grateful for everything he’s done for him and his siblings, but it’s hard, always aching to know what their lives could have been like with their real parents around.

Magnus studies him for a moment, then nods. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Alec shakes his head. “Not really. I just wanna forget about it and spend some time with -” he manages to catch himself just in time and clears his throat, hoping Magnus doesn’t notice. If he does, he’s too polite to offer Alec more than a warmly amused look. “Some time away from it all.”

Having finished his food, Magnus plucks his wine glass off the table. He settles back in his chair, a confident tilt to his chin as he takes in the view before him and occasionally sips his wine. To Alec, he’s regal. Magnus’ fingers dance along the stem of the wine glass as he surveys his city. Alec watches him, entranced, until he registers that Magnus is speaking again.

“You wanna spend some time in Westeros forgetting about it?” Magnus asks, lips curving upwards.

Alec pulls himself together and nods. He stands, collecting the plates to take them inside.

“You know, I still can’t believe you have a crush on Robb Stark,” Magnus says, picking up Alec’s wine glass too, along with the half empty bottle.

Alec groans as he wanders inside, Magnus’ answering chuckle following him. When he comes back through to the living room, Magnus has left their now full glasses on the classy coffee table in front of the couch and is closing the doors to the balcony.

Alec settles into his usual spot on the black leather couch and tucks his feet under the brown wool throw that’s usually draped over the armrest.

“I don’t have a crush on Robb,” he says, pouting. “I just think if they were gonna bring one of the Starks back to life, it should have been him.”

Magnus just makes a face and drops down on the couch beside Alec, then leans across him to get the remote. Alec tries to stay as still as possible before he does something dumb like reach out and take Magnus’ hand.

They settle into the episode. As usual, Magnus keeps up a snide, witty commentary the whole way through that has Alec shaking with laughter. He tries to hide how far gone he is for the man sitting next to him, but sometimes he’ll catch Magnus looking at him with something like pride in his expression whenever Alec is smiling at one of his jokes and wonder if it’s something that shouldn’t be hidden after all.

“You know, I think Jon’s character is more interesting,” Magnus says, a little later. “He’s used to his brother having the spotlight, but _he’s_ the leader, the one people look to.”

Alec glances over and finds Magnus isn’t looking at the TV anymore, and instead is watching him closely.

“Tell me,” Magnus says interestedly, “why do you like Robb so much?”

Alec looks at Magnus for a moment and then settles back into the couch. One of his favourite things about watching the show with Magnus is that Magnus takes the time to listen to him. Jace and Max complain at him for talking over whatever they’re watching, and Hodge and Izzy always tell him to quit over-analysing, but Magnus pays attention to Alec.

So, Alec starts off on a little rant - most of which Magnus has heard before - about how Robb Stark is a richer, rounder character in the books. He finds it easier to direct his opinions at the TV screen than Magnus himself, because sometimes he gets a little sidetracked by the kind, open way Magnus looks at him and forgets what he was meant to be saying.

Before he realises it, the episode has finished, Alec too caught up in animatedly discussing character arcs to notice. Magnus is watching him with an expression he can’t quite decipher, the hint of a smile playing around his mouth.

”Sorry,” Alec says, ducking his head, suddenly self-conscious.

“Don’t apologise,” Magnus says, and his hand hovers briefly over Alec’s arm before he pulls it away, clearing his throat and standing up. “More wine?”

Alec ends up staying past midnight, and both of them linger when it comes to saying goodnight.

Magnus leans against his doorframe again, sleepy but smiling, and Alec wonders if anyone has ever looked more beautiful.

“Have sweet dreams about Robb Stark,” Magnus teases, before breaking off into a yawn.

“I will,” Alec sends back, smiling, “because he’s clearly the superior brother.”

Magnus rolls his eyes affectionately. “We’re not doing this again,” he says.

Alec’s almost glad when his phone buzzes in his pocket, giving him something to do other than stare lovingly at Magnus. He glances at the message. It’s from Jace, reading, _team robb!!._

Alec snorts, then holds the phone up to show Magnus.

“He’s your brother,” Magnus says, laughing quietly. “Of course he’s gonna be on your side.”

Alec can’t disagree with that. He tucks his phone back into his pocket.

“Well, get home safe,” Magnus teases. Alec rolls his eyes but he can’t help laughing.

“You’re funny,” Alec says, aiming for unimpressed, but he can’t seem to stop smiling around Magnus so it just comes out like a compliment. Their eyes meet and he hesitates for a moment, before Magnus reaches out to squeeze Alec’s arm. “I’ll, uh, see you soon. Probably.”

He’s so caught up in Magnus smiling at him and saying, “Hopefully,” that he misjudges the distance between their apartments as he starts walking backwards and thumps harder than he meant to against his own door. His face warms and he groans, half-laughing.

Magnus covers his chuckle with ringed fingers. “Goodnight, Alexander,” he calls softly.

Alec reaches for the doorknob blindly, still watching Magnus, cheeks pink. “Night, Magnus.”

When Alec walks into the living room, Jace looks up from where he’s wrapped in a blanket on the couch, watching some movie.

“Dude,” Jace says, with a shake of his head, “you _need_ to get it together.”

Alec flips him off and heads to bed, still smiling fondly.

_____

The spring breeze is cool against Alec’s face as he makes his way through the New York City streets. He’s got his green hoodie on, but there’s a chill on his neck - he’d forgotten his scarf, distracted by looming college deadlines.

He never expected he’d follow in his mother’s footsteps and become a lawyer, but somehow it happened, and all of his hard work throughout school paid off with a full ride to Columbia.

Idris Corp is noticeable in the distance - it’s kind of hard to miss the second tallest building in the city. _Idris_ is written on the side in blocky letters, and the antenna at the very peak of the building has a ball at the end of it, marking it unique from the rest. Pride swells in Alec’s chest when he remembers that his little sister works there, one of the smartest scientists her age, if not _the_ smartest.

New York City starts getting crowded whenever winter fades to spring and summer. Not that it isn’t always crowded, but once the summer weather hits, tourists fly in like mosquitos and suck the fun from being out and about in the city.

Alec shoves his hands deeper into his pockets, curling in on himself to keep the cool air away, although he’s pretty positive his nose is like ice right now.

Uptown is usually filled with a mixture of tourists and locals, and during lunch time on a weekday, it’s hell on Earth. Alec pushes through the crowds of businessmen and women on their way to grab something to eat. He crosses off of Broadway and onto a more secluded street, letting himself breathe.

It’s not the fact that Alec doesn’t like New York - he does, actually, since he’s a city kid at heart, and Brooklyn is his home - but sometimes it can get suffocating.

Alec is strolling down the block when a loud scream interrupts his thoughts. He turns swiftly, noticing the small alley that reeks of garbage and spots a pregnant woman and a hooded man. The man is rifling through her purse, looking like he’s about to take off with it, and the lady is clutching her large stomach, crying softly into her hand.

Alec sees red and before he can properly process what’s happening he’s stepping forward to put an end to the scene in front of him.

“Hey!”

The guy looks up. Alec hadn’t clocked how big the dude is before, not registering the muscular shoulders and pronounced biceps, and now he looks pissed as hell. Alec swears the end of his moustache twitches with his lip as he throws the purse to the ground.

Alec recognizes the start of a fight easily, having been in a few of them, and dodges the first punch the man throws at him. The second punch, though, misses Alec’s face by a fraction, and Alec only just manages to shove the guy hard enough to get some distance between them.

He faintly hears the woman’s muffled sobs in the background, and his heart breaks a little for her having to see this. If he could spare two seconds to tell her to get out of here, he would, but the attacker grabs Alec’s hoodie aggressively and shoves Alec up against the wall.

The man forces Alec’s head to side, his other arm getting ready to throw a punch when Alec twists and uses his leg to kick the man backwards. The guy stumbles, giving Alec enough time to land a solid punch to his jaw.

Both of them are getting ready to attack again when the pregnant woman speaks up, her voice shaky yet strong. “I called 911.”

Alec looks at her, eyes wide, but her gaze is only directed at the man who tried to take her money. It’s enough of a threat to scare him off, and with one last hard shove that has Alec stumbling to the ground, he runs the other way.

Alec groans, rubbing the side he fell on. His head lolls to the side and he spots his phone.

“Oh, come on!” Alec whines when he flips his phone up and notices the cracked screen. Sighing, he gets up to his feet, dusting the gravel off of his jeans when the woman speaks again.

“Thank you,” she says softly. Alec turns to look at her, ignoring how much his body aches.

“Yeah, of course. Did you - are the police really coming?” he asks, though he’s fairly certain he knows the answer.

“No. I just didn’t want to see him hurt you any more,” she says honestly, her blonde hair falling out from its ponytail in messy strands, and Alec nods, smiling gratefully despite the bruises he can feel forming on his torso. “You have a little blood -” she points to her cheek and Alec reaches up, feeling a small scratch. He pulls his hand away and sees a hint of blood.

“My sister’s gonna kill me,” he mutters to himself, looking back at the woman. “Do you want me to walk you back?” Alec says and she nods, her hand never leaving her pregnant belly.

They walk together to the subway station she was attempting to reach earlier and bids her farewell, waving as she disappears down the stairs.

In the end he’s only five minutes late to the Italian place he’s meeting Izzy at. He sees her outside, leaning casually against the building next to the restaurant as her hair blows in the wind. Alec gets ready to call out for her when he’s a few steps away, but she stops him before he can.

“Alec!”

Izzy jogs towards him, impressive in red five-inch heels, and embraces him in a tight hug.

Alec winces despite himself, cursing inwardly at how obvious he’s made his injuries. Izzy pulls back instantly, eyeing him. Her face falls as she traces a thumb against the scratch on his cheek.

“Again?” she sighs, pushing his head to the side gently, scanning his face for any more injuries.

“Iz, I’m fine,” Alec says, properly meeting her eyes when she lets go of his face.

“I’m starting to think you actually enjoy getting beat up,” Izzy says with a shake her head, a hint of fondness in her tone.

Alec rolls his eyes. “I don’t get into fights that often.”

“Like how you didn’t get into a bar fight last week?” Izzy says, arching an eyebrow.

“I just asked if she was okay with the guy talking to her,” Alec protests. “She looked uncomfortable and he started it - he punched me first!”

“And I clearly remember finishing that fight by calling security,” Izzy says, looking unimpressed. “Alec, I’m just saying: you’re human, with bones that break, and some day they might not heal. Trust me, I’m a scientist.”

Alec huffs out a laugh, noticing Izzy’s lips tugging up into a small smile.

“You’re so busy looking out for everyone, big brother. Who’s looking out for you?” Izzy says, her eyes big and earnest. Alec’s stomach twists for a minute at the question before Izzy is hugging him again, softer now but still just as loving. Pulling away after a moment, Izzy gives Alec a warm smile. “Come on, I’m starving and their homemade fettucine alfredo is to die for.”

The little Italian place is quaint for an Uptown restaurant. They take a seat at a small table at the front, next to a window stretching the full height of the wall. After they place their orders, Alec asks about Izzy’s internship, and she leans forward on her forearms, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Idris Corp is _incredible_. They have top of the line equipment, and everyone there is so smart. It’s terrifying, half of the time, being in the building, but it’s also a great opportunity for me,” Izzy says, talking wildly with her hands, a habit she picked up from him. Alec takes a sip of his water, watching her fondly.

“I’m really happy for you,” Alec replies honestly.

“My boss is awesome, too. He checks in with all the interns to make sure we’re comfortable and happy, and he gave me some great feedback on my research. He’s so dedicated to his work. It’s inspiring.”

Izzy suddenly leans back, tilting her head to the side as she studies Alec.

“Plus, my supervisor is _very_ cute. I may have mentioned to him that you’re single,” Izzy says, innocently twirling her hair around her finger.

Alec rolls his eyes. “Iz, I don’t need you to set me up,” he says.

“Yeah, I know, because you have a thing for your neighbour or whatever,” she says, laughing as Alec flushes at the comment. “I just want you to be happy, _hermano_. You deserve it.”

Their food arrives and Izzy changes topics, asking instead how Alec’s classes are going. Alec tells her about his deadlines, his professors, and even some of his classmates. He’s always loved how easy it is to talk to Izzy, and he’s lucky to call her one of his best friends.

She ends up being right - the fettucine alfredo is _divine_.

_____

“Are you sure you’re allowed to take me up to your office, Iz? I don’t wanna get you into trouble.”

Lunch had flown by, and Alec insisted on walking Izzy back to Idris Corp, just as she insists that he comes up to her floor to see the view.

“It’ll only be, like, two minutes, I don’t see why they would make a big deal out of it,” Izzy replies with an eye roll, her arm linked through Alec’s.

They walk down Broadway, Izzy easily chatting about her latest project and about the annoying people who’ve just moved in across the street from them, back at Hodge’s house.

While Jace and Alec had made plans to move out fairly quickly after their respective high school graduations, Izzy had wanted to stay with Hodge and Max in the old family house. It’s the same place they all grew up in, and Alec’s main reason for wanting to get out was because of all the memories it holds.

Moving to the city had been a change of scenery, and Jace and Alec are only a few stops on the train from the rest of the Lightwoods, so Alec’s happy.

Alec can’t remember the last time he visited Idris Corp. He thinks he might have been on a school field trip in the third grade, but he’s not sure.

The grounds around the building resemble a technology museum, and there are benches where people can sit and chat, along with some trees sparsely planted around the area. There are also sleek stainless steel pillars coming out of the ground, inviting people to look at the displays. Alec stops at one, making Izzy stop next to him.

“That’s Raziel, the giant ball on top of the building,” Izzy explains, pointing to the screen in front of them. The effects on the screen are top quality, and Alec momentarily wonders just how rich this company is. “It takes the polluted air and filters it. We’ve dropped down twenty spaces on the world’s most polluted cities scale since it launched ten years ago.”

The image in front of him shifts to show how the filtration system works.

“It cleans the polluted air in a twenty mile radius, making sure to touch every point of the five boroughs,” Izzy continues, as Alec keeps his eyes on the screen, watching the filtration tanks changing to show how the filter is cleaned every two months. “Can you believe my boss built all this by himself? He’s a genius.”

“Woah,” Alec breathes out, genuinely impressed. Everyone in the country knows about Idris Corp, but it’s another thing to see it all up close and personal.

Technology is constantly changing, and Idris Corp seems to always be one step ahead.

“Come on, _hermano_. I can’t be late,” Izzy says, tugging on his arm. Alec lets himself be pulled along by his little sister, who’s surprisingly strong considering she only just comes up to his chest.

If Alec thought the public grounds were impressive, then he isn’t ready for the interior of the building. Inside is classic design meets innovation. The place is huge already, taking up an entire block, but the particular shades of white on everything around him makes Alec think everything is bigger.

A hologram takes up the center of the atrium, showing the company logo spinning in a loop. He can feel Izzy buzzing next to him, and for a second he understands how she feels. There’s no way she’s used to walking into this building and actually processing that she works there.

Izzy lets go of his arm, pointing out various parts of the atrium decor and explaining why it was made that way.

Alec turns in a small circle, eyes looking up at the ceiling. The holographic projection of the night sky is mesmerising, and Alec is so busy staring up at it in awe, spinning slowly, that he doesn’t see the man he bumps into.

“I’m so -” Alec starts, going to help the man recover what he’d dropped, when he realises who he just collided with. “Magnus?”

Magnus’ head snaps up on hearing his name. He retrieves his file and slowly stands, blinking at Alec.

“Alec,” he replies, smoothing down his white lab coat with a look of surprise on his face. Alec sees the staff ID hanging around Magnus’ neck and -

“You _work_ here?” Alec asks. Magnus nods, the beginnings of a smile on his face, until Izzy comes up to stand beside Alec.

Magnus’ eyes flit between Alec and Izzy and Alec can practically see the gears turning in his head. Magnus lets out a little sound of recognition.

“Magnus!” Izzy says happily. “This is my brother, Alec. I was gonna show him around, if that’s okay with you? He’s never been inside the building before. Alec, this is Magnus, my supervisor.”

Magnus looks away from Alec, shaking himself.

“We’ve met, actually,” he says, and his eyes dart to Alec again. Alec can’t keep his eyes off Magnus and he can’t hide his smile upon seeing him, either, which he should probably do something about.

“Oh?” Izzy asks, and then she glances at Alec’s expression and grins in a way he’s learnt to be wary of. “ _Oh_.”

“Yeah, uh, Magnus is my -”

“Your _hot neighbour_ ,” Izzy finishes for him, smiling widely at Magnus. Magnus’ tilts his head at Alec and lifts his eyebrows teasingly, but it’s clear he’s pleased with the assessment.

Alec makes a vague, hopeless gesture with his hands and then shrugs.

“You weren’t kidding when you said he was gorgeous,” Izzy stage whispers, and the betrayed look Alec sends her makes her snort, covering a hand over her mouth.

“ _Isabelle_ ,” Alec half pleads, half warns, staring her down. He takes a chance and glances at Magnus, who mostly looks amused by the siblings.

“Oh, would you look at the time,” Izzy says, faking a gasp as she stares at her bare wrist. “I have to get back to work and do that thing. It’s so important, I can’t believe I forgot all about it.” Izzy shakes her head. “Well, I’m sorry, big brother, but it looks like I can’t show you around.”

Alec opens his mouth to interrupt her, but her eyes are lit up mischievously.

“Magnus, I don’t suppose you could take a moment out of your schedule to give Alec a tour, could you?” Izzy asks, turning to Magnus.

Magnus opens and then closes his mouth. “Well, I have half an hour -”

“Great!” Izzy squeezes Alec’s bicep, grinning at her brother. “I owe you one. I’m gonna go take care of that _thing_ before they kick me off this internship. I’ll see you later, Alec.” Izzy rises on her tiptoes to peck Alec’s cheek.

Alec wonders whether, if he asks nicely, the ground might swallow him up.

Izzy waves as she hurries away to the escalators. Magnus and Alec both watch her leave before Alec turns to Magnus, ready to apologize for his sister’s behavior.

“She means well,” he says, wincing.

Magnus observes Alec with a smile. Alec’s not sure whether he should be worried about the playful glint in Magnus’ eye.

“Hot neighbour, huh?” Magnus asks, grinning, and Alec scrunches his face up.

_“Magnus_ ,” he whines, feeling his cheeks flame.

“I’m just teasing,” Magnus says. Alec scuffs the floor with his shoe, ignoring how red his face must be.

“You don’t have to interrupt your day for me, you know. I can come back another time,” Alec says, before Magnus can really consider Izzy’s proposal.

Magnus just raises an eyebrow, shaking his head. “Nonsense. You’re here now, and I’d be more than happy to show you around,” he says. “Besides, _this,”_ he adds, toying with his badge, a twinkle in his eye, “gets me access to all kinds of top secret places.”

Alec can’t help smiling at Magnus’ playful tone and nods. Magnus leads him in a different direction than the one Izzy went, towards a long hall of elevators. There are some scientists around them, some talking about chemicals and other stuff Alec can’t decipher, and some people in business suits.

“This place is amazing,” Alec says, looking around the atrium.

Magnus scans his ID badge to open the elevator and walks in.

“Wait till you see the labs,” Magnus says, bouncing on his toes. “They just upgraded some of our biochem labs with state of the art ion chromatographs.”

Alec can’t help smiling at Magnus’ infectious enthusiasm, even though he has no idea what the hell an ion chromatograph is. “Do you do a lot of lab work, then?” he asks.

Magnus waits until the doors of the elevator close before he answers. “Unfortunately not,” he says, leaning on the bar running around the walls of the elevator. “I used to, when I was in a junior position after I graduated. But now I’m head of R&D, so it’s more management and technology development meetings at the moment. Since I’m the youngest person to hold the position, I don’t want people to say I’m not taking all the aspects of my job seriously, you know?”

“Wow,” Alec says, before he can stop himself. Magnus is the youngest ever head of Idris Corp’s most prestigious department. He’s always known Magnus is wicked smart, but seeing him in his work environment is something totally different, and it makes him seem that much more powerful.

Alec looks out of the glass elevator at the different levels they’re passing, and he can’t tell if he’s more amazed by  Magnus or by the building itself.

“Are you sure this isn’t an inconvenience?” Alec asks, biting his lip. He’s suddenly conscious that Magnus probably has a thousand other things he needs to be doing, rather than giving Alec a tour.

“Alexander,” Magnus says, turning to him and resting a hand on his arm, “I _like_ spending time with you. But, if it eases your conscience, I was heading up to the top floor to discuss our latest green research project with Dr Aldertree anyway.”

Alec accepts this with a smile.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention working for Idris Corp,” Alec says conversationally.

“That’s because I don’t usually talk about it,” Magnus answers, smiling slightly. “Company policy. They’re notoriously tight-lipped about the work that goes on here. It’s easier not to mention anything so I don’t slip up.”

Alec lifts his eyebrows but doesn’t say anything. It seems a little shady, and he has a million questions, but decides keeping his mouth shut would be best.

The elevator dings to a halt and Magnus gestures for Alec to follow him.

“So, I guess I should officially welcome you to Idris Corp,” Magnus says, leading Alec through a lab. He waves at a couple of chemists who recognize him as they keep walking. “I’m sure your sister has told you a little about the origin of the company. It was founded to create a world without weakness.”

As they walk, Alec can’t help but look around and take it all in. Everything seems to be expensive and valuable, and seeing the scientists and engineers scurrying around suggests everyone takes their job very seriously. Magnus occasionally stops from talking to Alec about the company to say hello to people, and the short head nods people send Magnus are respectful.

“Our research covers loads of different scientific areas. The floor we’re currently on is for biomedical research, and the couple of floors above are for chemical technologies. In the last ten years, our research focus has shifted to genetic research, which I specialise in when I get time.”

They stop at a large window towards the end of the lab. Alec studies the gorgeous view of the city, thinking back to Izzy telling him about it. It’s breathtaking. Next to him, Magnus ducks his head and looks at his hands, a shy smile on his lips.

“Sorry,” Magnus says, “you probably don’t want to hear me going on about all this science stuff.”

“No, I -” Alec looks at him, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. “I like listening to you talk about stuff you’re passionate about. Besides, you’ve suffered through enough of my literature rants.”

Magnus chuckles, looking up to meet Alec’s eyes. He bumps Alec’s shoulder with his own.

“I love that working here gives me the opportunity to change lives for the better. That’s one reason why I pushed so hard to create the internship programme - we hold out a hand to help people who might not otherwise go into STEM subjects. I really want to open doors for other young people of colour and my job means I’m in a position to do that.” He smiles. “Like my mom always says, ‘dimana ada kemauan, di situ ada jalan’ - where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Magnus looks out the window again, but Alec can’t look away from him.

“Yeah,” Alec breathes out, because he can’t say _you’re amazing_ without making everything weird between them. Magnus turns to smile at him before frowning for a moment.

“Where’d you get this?” Magnus asks, cupping Alec’s face and gently running his thumb over the fresh cut on Alec’s  cheek. Alec tries to keep his breathing steady, watching Magnus’ concerned face.

“Oh, that? It’s, uh - it’s nothing,” Alec says, wondering if he’ll ever get over how soft Magnus’ voice gets whenever he’s worried.

Magnus gives him a look that clearly tells Alec he doesn’t believe him. Alec is opening his mouth to explain when -

“Magnus, who’s your friend?”

Alec and Magnus both take a step away from each other instantly, Magnus dropping his hand from Alec’s face. Magnus notices who the intruder is and stands up a little straighter.

“This is Alec Lightwood - I was just showing him around. His sister, Isabelle Lightwood, is a new intern of ours,” Magnus explains before turning to Alec. “Alec, this is Valentine Morgenstern. He’s the founder of the company.”

Valentine reaches out a hand which Alec instantly takes, wanting to make a good first impression on Magnus’ and Izzy’s boss.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Idris Corp is incredible.”

Valentine seems pleased by Alec’s compliment.

“A man with manners and a good, firm handshake - both excellent qualities to have,” Valentine says charmingly. “And yes, Idris is all my work combined into one large, beautiful facility. You know what every reporter says,” Valentine adds, walking to a steel pillar, putting his hand and cheek on it and closing his eyes. “The future lies within these walls.”

Magnus just smiles politely and Alec nods, clasping his hands behind his back.

“I’m afraid my break is nearly over,” Magnus says, glancing momentarily at his watch. He looks at Alec. “I’ll see you soon?”

Alec nods in response, smiling as Magnus says a short goodbye to Valentine and then walks away, his long white lab coat swaying behind him.

“Forgive me for prying,” Valentine starts, and Alec startles, tearing his eyes away from Magnus to look at the man, “but did you say Lightwood?”

“Yes, sir,” Alec replies.

“Please, call me Valentine.” Valentine waves a hand dismissively, coming to stand in front of Alec. “I’d like to think I’d recognize you without knowing your name - the black hair, the bright eyes. Alexander, isn’t it? Your parents were _extraordinary_ people.”

Alec’s polite smile falters for a moment, his brows furrowing. “You knew my parents?”

“Yes I did, my dear boy,” Valentine says, smiling woefully. “Maryse and Robert were very close friends of mine.”

A twinge of sadness hits Alec, as it always does whenever anyone says his parents’ names, but then he processes Valentine’s words and confusion settles in.

He opens his mouth, trying to form a coherent thought. “What?”

Valentine’s grin slowly spreads over his face, and he clasps both of Alec’s shoulders. “Let me show you something.”

It takes Alec a moment for his brain to catch up, and he nods. Valentine pats his shoulders at that and starts walking towards the elevators. He uses his key card like Magnus did to call the elevator, and turns to Alec when they get in.

“I built this company, Alec, to create a world without outcasts. An ideal human race,” Valentine says, waving a hand in front of him as if he’s a mile away. He meets Alec’s eyes. “I went through countless possibilities. Stem cells were where I started, but I reached a dead end. The MRNA sequences were never quite right, and, well - then I met your father. With his help I worked on something bigger and bolder.”

The elevator stops a few floors higher than where they were before, and they both walk out, Valentine leading the way. Alec notices how empty this floor is compared to the others. There’s a lack of life, only dark grey metal decorating the single long hallway. It doesn’t seem like a place meant for visitors.

Valentine swipes his key card and presses his thumb to a screen to get into the first room in the empty and bland corridor, and the weight of what Alec is about to see suddenly hits him. His father and his mother suddenly feel much closer than before, and Alec finds it a little hard to breathe.

“Your father and I started looking into something no scientist has perfected before. A cure for weakness.” Valentine pauses, his hand holding the door handle as he watches Alec with big and excited eyes. “Cross-genetic mutation.”

Yanking the door open, Valentine guides him inside, and Alec is overwhelmed with the room they enter into. Machines are at work all around them, the whizzing of the turning gears like a symphony of gadgets. There’s a huge whiteboard on one wall with dozens of scientific formulas on it that Alec doesn’t recognize.

“How much do you know about your parents, Alec?” Valentine asks, his voice echoing in the room. Alec turns, watching Valentine shrug off his jacket and stuff his ID in his jacket pocket, discarding it on a vacant table. He walks towards a row of lab coats on wall hooks and puts one on.

“I don’t know much about their life before I was born,” Alec admits. He doesn’t share a lot about his family a lot of the time, but he can’t help but be painfully honest with Valentine.

Valentine accepts this answer, lifting his arms and twirling in a circle, a delighted laugh coming from him. “This is my most prized room in this whole facility,” he says, dropping his arms and meeting Alec’s eyes, “and none of it would be possible without your parents’ contribution. Everything we studied, my boy, we did with purpose. With passion. They knew that with this research, we would change the world.”

Alec’s heart thumps wildly against his chest as he watches Valentine with wide eyes.

“However this,” Valentine says with another fancy arm wave, “was just part one of our journey. And there’s so much -”

An loud ringing interrupts Valentine’s monologue and he curses under his breath, the airy flourish of his movements gone as he angrily takes his phone out from his jeans pocket and answers the call.

“Hello? Yes. What? No, that’s absurd - look, I’m busy right now.” Valentine pinches the bridge of his nose, huffing into the phone.

Alec walks around a little, trying to look like he isn’t eavesdropping. His eyes fall upon a room tucked between two large machines. There’s a small ID scanner next to the door handle, and from the tiny window in the door, Alec can see the room is glowing blue. He’s instantly drawn to it, as if he knows that something wildly important is in there.

Valentine’s voice cuts through his thoughts.

“Fine, just - give me a second.”

Valentine exhales harshly, bringing his phone to his chest. “Alec, my boy, I have to step out for a moment to finish this call. The place is useless without me.”

Alec chews on his bottom lip, trying not to appear too interested as he nods. “You’re a busy man, sir - uh, Valentine.”

“That I am,” Valentine agrees, seeming a little distracted. “I’ll only be ten minutes. If you need something, I’ll be at the end of the hall on your right.”

Alec tears his eyes away from the doorknob, which he’s half sure is about to break under Valentine’s hold, and nods again, offering him a polite smile.

“Of course. I’ll be here trying to -” he gestures vaguely to the whiteboard full of equations “- figure that out.”

Valentine sends him a curt nod and a strained smile before walking out the door and shutting it behind him.

As Alec wanders to the board, a flash of white in the pocket of Valentine’s charcoal jacket catches his eye. _Don’t be an idiot_ , he thinks, even as he draws closer to the jacket. _He’s gonna catch you_.

Alec’s hand hovers over the pocket and he plucks the ID out before he can stop himself. He turns it over in his hands, walking to the door that had caught his attention earlier.

He uses the ID to scan himself inside the bright blue room and is taken aback by the sight. There are two large circular steel frames, one smaller and one larger, rotating in different directions around each other. Alec steps further into the room, then jumps when he notices what’s on the frames: spiders. Hundreds of small to medium sized spiders on large webs that hug the rotating steel pieces.

Alec’s gaze locks onto one. It moves up the web and he’s thrown back to being eight again, paralysed with fear and unable to sleep, watching a spider crawling across his bedroom wall. His dad had noticed Alec still had his bedside light on, way past the time he was supposed to be asleep, and came in to check on him. Instead of killing the spider like Alec had wanted him to, Robert had carefully caught it in a glass, talking to Alec about it with a gentle admiration in his voice.

He knows his father was always intrigued by them, and he holds onto that childhood memory as he wanders deeper into the room. The extra security around the door and the revelation that Valentine knew his parents suggests that something about the spiders in this room are special.

Alec takes his time walking around the frame, gazing at the spiders that almost seem to glow in the blue lighting. He walks past the outer frame and towards the one in the center, entranced.

Slowly, Alec reaches his hand out and plucks one of the strings of webbing that runs across the outer structure. At a sudden whirring noise, he jumps back. The sturdy needling machines that appear to regulate the webbing start retracting it, and as the web moves Alec notices a single spider fall.

He freezes, curling in on himself as spiders begin to fall from the highest points of the frame like raindrops. Alec presses his lips together and squeezes his eyes shut, spiders dropping into his hair and on his shoulders. Their legs tickle his neck and ears and he starts shuddering to get them off him, frantically batting as many away as he can.

Alec is breathing heavily by the time the spiders disappear to God knows where. He slowly backs out of the room, eyes wide and palms sweaty. His heart is still beating wildly in his chest, but he doesn’t waste another moment potentially getting caught, especially now that he seems to have triggered a movement in the webbing.

The door slides shut and Alec digs around in his pocket for Valentine’s ID. When he feels the harsh plastic against his fingertips, he pulls it out and shoves it back into the same jacket pocket he found it in. Then he paces over to the whiteboard, pretending to be engrossed in it while he waits for Valentine to return, pushing the spider room from his mind and hoping his heart rate will simmer down to normal.

Valentine reemerges a few minutes later.

“I apologize for that, and I’m afraid I have to cut our time short,” Valentine says as soon as he walks in. Alec turns around to look at him, and noticing that he’s tense.

Alec shrugs, shooting Valentine a lopsided grin that he hopes is more nonchalant than he feels.

“It’s fine, I should be going home anyway,” Alec says, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“Let me escort you out, then,” Valentine says, shrugging his lab coat off and picking up his suit jacket. Alec nods and heads towards the door.

The elevator ride is mostly silent, Valentine more on edge and less exuberant than before. When they reach the bottom floor, Valentine walks him towards the center of the atrium.

“Don’t be a stranger, Mr Lightwood,” Valentine says, patting Alec’s arm.

“Yeah, of course,” Alec says, ducking his head. “Thank you for today - the tour and everything.”

“Maybe we can exchange numbers? That way you can reach me more easily,” offers Valentine.

Alec digs into his pocket for his phone before remembering what happened to it during the fight earlier. He pulls out the cracked phone and grimaces.

“I, uh, dropped it,” Alec explains hastily, before Valentine can ask any questions.

He mostly seems amused. “Not a problem. Here,” he says, reaching into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulling out a shiny, silver business card.

Alec takes it and flips it over in his hand, admiring the sleek design.

“Thanks,” Alec says, looking up at Valentine.

Valentine sticks his hand out, and Alec reaches out to shake it. As soon as their palms brush, Alec feels a shot of pain on the back of his neck and jerks, his free hand cupping the skin above the collar of his jacket. Valentine just gives him a funny look as they shake hands, then makes his way back to the elevators.

Alec rubs his neck, feeling the tender skin there.

_What the hell was that?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **another tw** for spiders at the start of section 3 (abt halfway through the chapter) and in section 4 (the italicised one)
> 
> writing highlights of ch2:  
> 
> 
>   * "im just making shit up as i go tbqh" - charl
>   * "hes a salty gay" - charl about alec lightwood
>   * "idk a plot" - charl
>   * "yer a spider alec" - charl
>   * "WHY ARE ALL THESE QUOTES FROM ME" - charl
>   * “i am pulling this out of my ass oh my god” - elle
> 

> 
> thank u again to ceci for beta'ing!!

The subway ride to Hodge’s house is only fifteen minutes, but it gives Alec time to skim read De Sanchez v Nicaragua, a court case for his international law class. His concentration goes occasionally, Alec being distracted by the itching on the back of his neck and the dull ache of pain on his torso from the aftermath of the street fight the day before, but he manages to get almost three quarters of the way through the human rights case.

He gets off at Clark Street Station and starts walking towards his old house, hands shoved in the warm pockets of his jacket. He hasn’t been to Hodge’s in a few weeks, never quite managing to get back to Hodge in time to schedule a family dinner for when he’s not snowed under with classes.

Alec misses Max most of all. Max has been preparing for his SATs lately and they haven’t hung out properly in over a month - the last time they’d got together was for Max’s 16th birthday.

Turning onto Pineapple Street, Alec sees his old home a little way down the street. It’s a simple brownstone, equal parts familiar and foreign. He walks towards it, passing the pizza place on the left of the street with a rush of nostalgia. Max had multiple birthday parties there growing up, and Izzy had gone there after her first ever break up and they’d given her free pizza with extra pepperoni, on the house.

Brooklyn Bridge Park is visible in the far distance. Alec remembers Hodge taking them there for summer picnics, and one year they’d all helped teach Max to ride his bike. It had been a few years since their parents had left them in Hodge’s hands without an explanation. Alec had been sitting with Izzy and Jace on the grass, eating ice cream sandwiches. Max had pulled up beside them on his bike, Hodge’s hand hovering over the handlebars, and Max had stopped and looked up at him.

“When are mom and dad coming back, Hodge?” Max had asked.

Jace had dropped his ice cream sandwich in shock, and later that night, Alec had heard Izzy crying in her room. Alec couldn’t get their parents back; he couldn’t fix it. His heart broke as he listened to his sister’s muffled sobs.

That was then, though. As people changed and time went on, Alec vowed to always protect his family.

Alec hops up the steps to the porch and rings the doorbell, waiting for Hodge to answer. Jace always lets himself in whenever they come together, and Alec does have a key, but he never uses it. It feels like an intrusion.

It’s only a moment or two before the sandy-haired figure of his guardian appears behind the glass of the front door.

“Alec,” Hodge greets. He clasps Alec’s arms, giving him a once over, then stands back to let Alec in the house.

“Hey, Hodge,” Alec says, smiling. He moves past Hodge and takes his shoes off, then turns to find Hodge watching him.

“How are things?” Hodge asks conversationally, leaning on the wall. His grey eyes are fixed on Alec, alight with interest.

“Yeah, college is good,” Alec says with a shrug. “I, uh, saw Izzy yesterday. At work.”

Hodge nods, giving Alec a smile that seems a little tense. “You went to Idris Corp?” he asks.

Alec shrugs. “Yeah, only for an hour or so, though. She said at lunch you weren’t happy about the internship.”

Hodge opens his mouth and then closes it, visibly working over words. “I’m happy she’s got such a good opportunity,” he says, after a beat. “I’ve just heard things about Idris Corp, that’s all.”

Alec frowns slightly. “Well, it can’t be that bad,” he says, crossing his arms. “My parents worked there, didn’t they?”

Hodge’s eyes widen. “Who told you that?” he asks, voice strained.

“Valentine Morgenstern,” Alec says, narrowing his eyes. “He showed me around yesterday. How come you never said they worked there?”

Hodge swallows. “You never really asked,” he says, after a brief pause. “What did you think of him, Morgenstern?”

“He was a little...I don’t know what to make of him, really,” Alec says honestly. “It was good to hear more about mom and dad, though.”

Alec chews on his lip thoughtfully, watching as Hodge fidgets a little with his hands, suddenly seeming out of place. Alec waits for him to speak, but he stays silent, his eyes focused on the ground.

“Okay, well, I’ll head on up and get started,” Alec says, a little nonplussed.

Hodge looks up at him, offering him a bright smile.

“Cool, yeah. Just feel free to sort through everything, I want to throw out half the junk up there. I’ll get started on lunch - meatloaf okay?” Hodge says, pushing off the wall and walking towards the kitchen. “Oh,” Hodge says, spinning on his heel and turning back to Alec, “before I forget. Can you pick Max up from school on Friday? I just got off the phone with work before you got here, they need me to cover for someone.”

Alec nods, mind still on his parents. “Yeah, sure,” he says.

“Maybe take him to pick up that FIFA game he’s been going on about?” Hodge asks. “He’s missed you, you know. We all have.”

Alec bites his tongue to refrain from saying that Jace obviously hasn’t missed him because they live together, and he saw Izzy only yesterday. But things with Hodge are usually like this, either one of them finding something to snap about.

Izzy once told him it was because he and Hodge were so similar, but he’d just rolled his eyes.

“Sure,” Alec says again. Hodge nods, pleased, and continues through to the kitchen. Alec heads upstairs, passing by the photos of him and his siblings on the wall. There are numerous school photos, each one a moment of childhood naivete frozen in time. Their photo selves get older as Alec heads up the stairs, ending with the final photo at the top of the landing - him and his siblings at Niagara Falls two years ago.

Alec stops on the landing below the loft hatch, and peers upwards. The ladder is positioned and ready to climb, and Alec looks upwards before he steps onto it. He only has to climb a couple of steps on the ladder before he can pull himself up into the attic and he sits on the edge for a while, legs swinging as he looks around and gets accustomed to the gloom.

Gingerly feeling around for the lamp Hodge keeps up there, Alec’s fingers brush some plastic bags and he recoils a little. Eventually he finds the lamp and switches it on, the light casting the attic with a helpful glow.

Standing up and brushing his hands down on his pants, Alec looks around at the boxes stored in the attic, stacked up on top of each other like skyscrapers. He ducks under a cobwebbed beam and opens the first box. It’s full of binders and folders, stuffed with loose sheets of paper that have yellowed with age. None of it looks particularly interesting, and Alec rifles through it half-heartedly before placing the box down on the floor and opening the next one.

He loses track of how long he stays up there, sitting cross legged on the floor and sorting through boxes of old documents. He can’t help wondering why Hodge kept all this stuff - he knows Hodge hasn’t always been a bartender, but it must be at least twenty years since he would’ve worked a job that would’ve required him to keep this much paper.

After a while, Alec gives up with the big boxes in the middle of the room and moves to a smaller collection of them, sitting in a corner. Something dark catches his eye, a brown briefcase covered in a layer of dust.

Alec crawls over to the hatch and calls down to Hodge, but gets no reply. He eyes the briefcase again. He doesn’t want to invade Hodge’s privacy, but Hodge had said he wanted to sort through the stuff. Besides, it’s probably just going to be aging documents, like in all the other boxes.

Against his better judgement, Alec takes the briefcase in his hands, standing up. He wipes off the dust and feels pristine leather against his fingertips. It looks like it hasn’t been touched in years, and Alec deems it to be useless, about to discard it when he notices an engraving near the clasp.

_Robert Lightwood._

Alec feels a lump form in his throat. He glances back to the entrance to the attic, checking to see if he’s still alone. He presses the briefcase to his chest, confusion and curiosity clouding his mind as he makes his way back down the ladder and starts walking towards his old room. Why wouldn’t Hodge have shown him his father’s briefcase? Had he just forgotten it was up there?

Opening the door to his old bedroom, Alec swiftly walks in and shuts it quietly behind him. It’s been awhile since he’s been in here, but everything inside is still exactly the same as he left it. Alec can almost picture his scrawny fourteen year old body splayed out on the small bed playing on his GameBoy.

The walls of the room are a bare sandy beige. Two tall bookshelves stand tall on one side, filled to the brim with different books Alec read during his time living here. He walks towards it, the briefcase still clutched tightly in his right hand as he runs a finger down a spine of a book.

Alec snaps out of his daze and sits down on his old bed, which now feels ten times smaller than before. The bed covers are still the same checkered blue as they always were, and Alec makes himself comfortable as he takes a deep breath, mentally preparing himself to open up the briefcase.

Finding a briefcase that belonged to his dad in the back of Hodge’s attic? That couldn’t be a coincidence.

Alec handles the briefcase carefully, skimming his fingers along the sides before opening the clasps in one swift movement. He peers inside and finds a bunch of documents, then delicately takes them out and lays them all on top of the bed covers.

Scanning over them, they detail a lawsuit brought against Valentine Morgenstern for medical malpractice. Alec picks up the complaint, filed by a Stephen Herondale. It outlines the case against Morgenstern, citing negligence during a clinical trial which resulted in the death of Celine Herondale, and Herondale’s demands for Morgenstern to pay damages. There are several drafts of moves to get the case dismissed, but Alec assumes they must have remained unsent, because among the papers is also Valentine’s summons to court.

Alec skims the answer Valentine responded with, which argues he was not liable for her death. He’s just about to lay the paper back on the bed when he catches sight of the defence attorney’s name: Maryse Lightwood.

He swallows around the lump in his throat and starts to reread the documents in the case more carefully.

Among the papers, there’s a wordy consent form with the Idris Corp logo on it. Alec flicks through it, catching sight of a phrase that sends a shiver down his spine: “while medical practice seeks to benefit the individual patient, clinical research seeks to benefit scientific knowledge.”

 _Well,_ Alec thinks grimly, _they definitely got_ some _knowledge out of Celine Herondale’s death._

The back of the consent form is signed by Celine, her looped handwriting tracing across the page. Alec doesn’t realise how tightly he’s gripping the paper until it creases in his hands, and he drops it like it’s burned him.

He’s studied enough medical law cases to know that sometimes stuff like this happens, as tragic as it is. But something about it doesn’t sit right with him, and he makes a mental note of the Herondales so he can look them up later.

Alec rifles through the other papers, seeing more consent forms and some distribution contracts, all emblazoned with the Idris Corp logo. There’s one folder remaining in the briefcase, a beige file with no writing on the front, just a small white label with a pointy black symbol. Alec opens it and is met with a load of chemical formulae and mathematical equations that are incomprehensible to him, but he _can_ make sense of a load of scientific drawings of spiders and knows, suddenly, certainly, that this folder belonged to his father.

Footsteps on the stairs break Alec out of his thoughts. He hurriedly bundles up the papers and folders, shoving them into the briefcase. In his haste, a photo appears from where it has been lodged between two sheets of paper. Alec has just slammed the briefcase shut when the footsteps pass his room, and he realises, drawing in a breath, that Hodge is going up to the attic.

Alec turns the photo over in his hands, breath catching when he sees the faces of the people smiling up at him.

“Alec!”

It looks like a college party. His mother and father are there, standing just beside a man who’s noticeably recognisable as Valentine, even so young. On Valentine’s right is a pretty redheaded woman, and next to her stands a handsome black man with a beard. He’s got his arm around a black woman who’s not looking at the camera; she’s looking at the white man standing next to her, who’s gazing straight back at her lovingly.

Beside him, just at the edge of the photo, is a sandy-haired man that Alec would recognise anywhere.

“Alec,” Hodge calls, knocking on the door. Alec shoves the photo in his jean pocket, pushes the briefcase under his old bed and stands.

“Yeah,” he says, searching for something to do and failing. He ends up standing awkwardly in the middle of the room when Hodge opens the door and gives him a slightly confused smile.

“I thought you were still up in the attic,” Hodge says in explanation. “Lunch is ready, anyway. What are you doing in here?”

“Oh, I was just looking at some stuff,” Alec says, after a brief pause.

“From the attic?” asks Hodge, leaning against the doorframe with a casualness not present in his voice.

Alec nods. “It’s not yours. It belonged to my parents.”

Hodge raises his eyebrows. “I didn’t realise any of Maryse and Robert’s stuff was still up there,” he muses.

Alec curls his lip and shrugs widely.

The mistrust suddenly pooling in the pit of his stomach makes Alec hesitate to tell Hodge exactly what he’d found. But then Alec takes in Hodge’s expression, remembering his weirdness when he’d talked about Valentine Morgenstern and Idris Corp earlier, and gets a burst of determination to get some answers.

He’s fairly sure Hodge will be able to give them to him.

“I actually found this photo in one of the boxes upstairs,” Alec says, pulling the picture gently out of his pocket. Hodge walks over to him, curious.

When his eyes land on the photo, Hodge goes pale. He looks up at Alec hesitantly, then backs away to sit down on Alec’s old bed.

“You have questions,” Hodge says, wringing his hands.

“A lot of them,” Alec replies, tucking the photo back in his pocket and crossing his arms over his chest. “How do you know Valentine Morgenstern?”

“We were friends in college,” Hodge answers, staring at the wall behind Alec. “It was a long time ago, Alec.”

“And that’s it?” Alec asks, eyebrow raised, his tone flat.

Hodge meets Alec’s gaze and holds it. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

“The truth would be nice,” Alec bites out.

Hodge’s jaw clenches. “It was just a minor thing -” he begins, but Alec cuts him off.

“What about my parents? The four of you, how did you know each other? Valentine said mom and dad used to work for Idris. Did you?”

“Alec,” Hodge says, holding his hands up placatingly.

“No,” Alec fires back. “You always do this. Every time the topic of my parents comes up, you avoid the question or try to shut us up with some answer that doesn’t tell us anything.”

“It’s not always easy to -” Hodge says, and something inside Alec breaks.

“Easy?” Alec snaps. “Do you know how _shit_ it felt when I had to explain to my five year old brother why our parents weren’t coming back to see us because you wouldn’t do it?”

“Alec, I never meant to put that burden on you,” Hodge says, looking down at his hands.

“Well, you did,” Alec says sharply, “so the least you could do now is to answer my question. How did you and my parents and Valentine all know each other?”

Hodge sighs. “I met your parents through Valentine,” Hodge says. “He was a mutual friend at college. Then, a couple of years later, when Valentine founded Idris Corp, he offered us all jobs. Robert was part of the science R&D team and Maryse was Valentine’s attorney.”

“And you?” Alec says, lifting his eyebrows.

Hodge shakes his head. “Computer coding, mostly. I wrote most of the programming for his IT when he was just starting out - the company was tiny, then, so it wasn’t a big job. Initially, I saw it as a short-term thing, but Valentine was my friend. He kept asking me to stay as the company expanded.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell us this before? You could have mentioned it when Izzy got her internship,” Alec says, frowning.

"I couldn't, Alec,” Hodge says, shaking his head. “There's still so much you don't know."

“Then tell me,” Alec says exasperatedly.

“Alec,” Hodge pleads, his voice breaking. “I _can’t_.”

“Figures,” Alec scoffs, shaking his head and staring at the ground. He tries to shove down the disappointment pooling in his stomach.

“Look, let’s just,” Hodge starts, and Alec can hear the bed squeak as he stands up. “Let’s go eat lunch, okay? I want to hear all about your studies.”

Alec doesn’t respond, still refusing to meet Hodge’s eyes, and Hodge sighs in reply.

“I’ll meet you downstairs.” Hodge reaches for Alec but stops halfway, dropping his hand.

Hodge brushes past him, and Alec balls his hands into fists. He tries to breathe, but he’s so fucking _angry_. Years of disappointment feel like they’re flooding in, and he’s shaking with rage.

Once Alec hears Hodge’s footsteps going down the stairs, Alec crouches down and pulls the briefcase out from where he’d kicked it under the bed. He picks it up and tucks it under his elbow, then storms down the stairs and past the kitchen. He doesn’t stop to look in or say goodbye to Hodge before he yanks open the front door, steps through, and slams it shut behind him.

___

When Alec gets home he tries to distract himself by studying, determined to remain focussed on the fact that he has upcoming midterms he needs to pass. He knows, logically, that his family’s secrets will still be there in a few hours, but his adrenaline is still pumping from the fight with Hodge, his words burnt into Alec’s mind.

After a few long hours have gone by, with Alec’s concentration taken by the reminder of what Hodge had said, Alec gives up, leaning his elbows on the desk over his books and rubbing at his temples. He can feel a migraine starting to form and is pushing back his chair to find some painkillers when his newly fixed cell phone chimes. He rifles through the papers on his desk to find it.

_I’m guessing you’ve been cooped up in your room all day studying for your midterms - coffee break? Meet me in front of the building in an hour?_

Alec stares at the phone, a smile rising unbidden to his face. His stomach swoops happily as he replies to Magnus’ text with a confirmation, thinking - not for the first time - how wonderful Magnus is. Magnus texts him back with a smiley face and Alec has to force himself to relax because his cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

He resumes his search for painkillers and takes two, then returns to his desk to fit in another half hour of studying before he meets Magnus. It’s no use, because now instead of being distracted by what Hodge had said Alec is distracted by the thought of seeing Magnus, but he makes a valiant effort anyway.

At five to the hour Alec abandons his books and shouts to Jace that he’s heading out. He grabs his jacket off the hook by the door and jogs down to the front of their apartment building.

Magnus is heading up the block towards him, carrying a paper tray with two coffees and dressed in tailored black pants and a maroon shirt, two long necklaces draped over the fabric. He looks stunningly beautiful in the late afternoon sunshine and Alec drinks him in with a smile.

“Hey,” Alec says, as Magnus reaches him. He takes the coffee from Magnus’ outstretched hand, trying not to swoon from the fact that Magnus knows his order by heart. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Magnus says. “How’s the studying going?”

Alec groans and shakes his head. Magnus laughs lightly, gesturing back the way he came. Alec asks about Magnus’ day, knowing Magnus has just finished work, and Magnus describes the dull finance meetings he’s been in for most of the day, trying to find investment for their latest research development. Alec notes that Magnus is sharing more details with him now that he knows Alec knows he works for Idris Corp, and he can’t help but be a little pleased.

Eventually they stop their lazy stroll at Battery Park. Alec throws away their coffee cups while Magnus wanders over to their bench and sits down. He elegantly crosses one leg over the other and surveys the waterfront, the Statue of Liberty and New Jersey just visible in the distance.

“How’s your mom?” Alec asks as he sits down, a little closer to Magnus than perhaps he should, their arms brushing.

Magnus looks away from the water, turning to Alec with a smile.

“She’s doing well,” Magnus says. “She keeps saying I need to go and stay with her, but that’s not going to happen until I can get the time off work, and _that’s_ not going to happen until Valentine Morgenstern isn’t around.”

“What, uh, do you think of him? As a boss?” Alec asks carefully, trying to keep his tone neutral.

Magnus draws in a breath and looks out over the water again.

“He’s dedicated, I’ll give him that,” Magnus says, smiling wryly. “Sometimes I think he lives at Idris Corp. I don’t know him on a personal level.” Magnus cocks his head. “Why do you ask?”

Alec shrugs. “No reason. I - just. He mentioned he knew my parents yesterday,” he says. And then, under Magnus’ calm, curious gaze, Alec is spilling a brief version of the drama with Hodge, some of his earlier frustration at being denied answers returning, along with a sadness that aches heavy in his chest at the mention of his parents.

Magnus doesn’t say anything, he just makes a soft, thoughtful noise. A moment later, he gently places his hand over Alec’s, just resting, the warmth of his skin contrasting with the cooler metal of his rings.

Alec clears his throat, just glad to have been able to offload his worries onto someone who won’t judge or comment. Knowing someone - Magnus - is there to listen when things get rough means so much to him.

“Anyway,” Alec says, and he turns his hand palm up under Magnus’, lacing their fingers together, and wonders if the two of them holding hands means as much to Magnus as it does him. “I don’t wanna think about that now. What about you? Are you doing anything this weekend?”

Magnus squeezes Alec’s hand and doesn’t comment on the abrupt subject change, something Alec is grateful for.

“I have plans with Raphael,” Magnus tells him. “We have tickets for Wicked. Raphael cries every time. He won’t thank me for telling you, but he’s being infuriating at the moment, so it’s only fair.”

Alec chuckles. He’s not met Raphael, but Magnus often talks about one of his oldest friends. They’d met at school, Magnus two years older than Raphael, and seven-year-old Magnus had taken it upon himself to be something of a mentor for Raphael. Since then, Magnus and Raphael have been incredibly close, even when they’re annoying the hell out of each other.

Alec only has to think of Jace and he understands.

“What’s he done?” asks Alec.

“He keeps trying to set me up,” Magnus answers, tone vaguely offended. Alec chews his lip, praying nothing in his expression gives away how his heart is sinking. “I keep telling him I’m not interested in a relationship right now, and, even if I was, I would find someone on my own, but he doesn’t listen. He seems to think finding love again will help heal a broken heart.”

Magnus’ voice drops off at the end and he looks away.

Alec isn’t sure exactly what ended Magnus’ last relationship. All he knows is that Magnus moved halfway across the city to get away from his ex-girlfriend, and that it led to him moving into the apartment opposite Alec and Jace. It’s clearly a painful topic for Magnus, because he usually skips over it with a breezy joke or a quip whenever it comes up and quickly moves onto something else.

“I mean,” Alec begins slowly, brushing his thumb against Magnus’ hand soothingly, “I don’t have much experience with - you know, relationships, and that, but Jace and Izzy would always take a few months to process and move on, and then try dating again.”

Magnus looks at Alec for a long moment, his dark brown eyes warm, but serious.

“Perhaps you’re right,” he says eventually. His forehead wrinkles slightly, tone turning wistful. “My friends are always telling me I deserve to find love again.”

Alec detects a note of uncertainty in Magnus’ voice, and nods in response. “You do,” he confirms.

“We both do,” Magnus says, voice lighter, and he squeezes Alec’s hand again.

They sit on the bench for a little longer, conversation darting away to the restaurant Magnus and Raphael are going to try at the weekend, and then the food places Magnus and Alec need to try for their next _Game of Thrones_ binge-watch. Neither of them take much notice of the time until the evening starts drawing in and Jace calls Alec’s cell, asking him where dinner is.

Magnus laughs a little and turns away, giving Alec space to take the call. Alec makes some take out related promises he doesn’t intend to keep and then hangs up, momentarily brushing his hand against Magnus’ arm.

“I needed this,” he says, smiling slightly. “Thank you.”

Magnus nods. “I remember being a student,” he says, slightly wistful. “I thought you might want a break.” Magnus nudges Alec’s elbow. “Plus, I just wanted to see you.”

Alec swears his heart skips a beat and suddenly he feels too big for his body, not quite knowing what to do with the happiness bubbling through his veins.

“Come on,” he says, standing up and offering Magnus his hand in a moment of boldness. “Let’s get out of here.”

When Alec gets back to the apartment, Jace is sitting on the couch reading. Alec changes into his PJs and heads back out to the living room, collapsing on the couch beside his brother.

The two of them start hate watching _Twilight_ , but before they’re even halfway through Alec’s head is pounding and he calls it an early night. He stumbles to bed after throwing back a few painkillers, headache raging, and falls into an uneasy sleep.

___

The loud, familiar beeping of Alec’s alarm wake him with a start, his hair sleep-mussed and sticking out in different directions. Alec scrubs a hand over his face, noticing the terrible ache in his head from yesterday is gone. He yawns, scratching his shoulder as he sluggishly stumbles out of bed.

Alec has never been a morning person, and it’s evident from his half-lidded eyes and the way he bumps into the door on the way into the bathroom. He turns on the lights and rubs his right eye, reaching for his plain grey toothbrush with his free hand. Alec grabs the toothpaste on the sink and squeezes to get some out, though he severely underestimates his strength and sends a huge blob of toothpaste splattering on the mirror.

Blinking at it slowly, still not in his right state of mind, Alec reaches up and takes some toothpaste off of the mirror with his toothbrush. He leans down to get the water running, and with little to no effort he accidentally tugs the tap off, sending water flying everywhere.

Alec panics as water starts shooting out. He drops the knob from the tap and reaches for one of the towels hanging off a rack on his wall, then presses it down onto the open tap and stops the water from making more of a mess. He leaves the towel there and backs away.

Alec stands there, looking between the knob from the sink on the floor and the glob of toothpaste on the mirror. The tenderness on the back of his neck starts to pulsate. He blinks a few times, furrowing his eyebrows as he reaches behind and touches the tender spot when he feels something sticky.

More alert, Alec can make out a string that’s -

Coming _out_ of his neck?

Alec tugs gently and feels no pain, so he tugs harder, his eyes locking on his hands in the mirror. He continues pulling, until he can see what looks like a web in the reflection. Alec’s heart rate speeds up because _holy shit,_ this seems like the beginning of a terrible C-list horror movie.

The string snaps as he pulls harshly on it and he barely manages to cover up a startled yelp at the feeling. It makes the back of his neck sting but he pushes the pain away, instead holding the string up in front of him to inspect it.

At the end of the sticky, web-like string is a tiny spider.

Alec jerks back instantly, hand darting out to throw the spider away from him before he knows what he’s doing. He gives a full body shiver, skin crawling as he watches the dead spider’s body tumble down across the clean white of the sink. His hands are shaky and he pitches forward, placing his toothbrush in the holder and drawing in a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Slowly, he turns, trying to check the back of his neck in the mirror to see if there are any more. He can’t decide whether it dropped on him from the ceiling of the bathroom or crawled onto him while he was sleeping, but a horrifying whisper in the back of his brain tells him it had been under his skin since he’d gone in the spider room at Idris Corp.

Alec walks back into his room and sits on the bed, still mostly in shock as he tries to get himself to focus. Suddenly everything seems to be amplified - his fingers feel a little tacky, he can see the dust forming a layer on the top of his desk, and he can hear this strangely loud buzzing sound. It’s crystal clear in his ears, and when he turns his head, he sees a tiny fly sitting on his bookshelf.

He blinks and watches it carefully as it walks across his shelf, and Alec swears he hears the scratch of its wings gliding together, and the tiny taps of its feet.

 _I’m losing my mind_ , he thinks to himself. There’s no logical explanation for this. He’s frozen in place, his eyes darting around the room with a newfound attention for detail when he notices the clock on his desk reading 7:15 AM.

Alec is running late. Alec is _never_ late.

Bolting out of his daze, Alec runs to his drawer and pulls together a random outfit. It takes longer than he expects, since the clothes keep sticking to his hands, as if he has glue on his fingertips.

He manages to run out of the house with two minutes to spare, grabbing a granola bar from the cupboard and shouting goodbye to Jace. The train is only two short blocks away, and Alec thanks whatever higher power runs the train schedule when he sees the train waiting in the station.

Alec thumps against the doors once they’ve closed, holding on to the pole in front of him. He rolls his head and cracks his neck, trying to get this morning’s craziness out of his head. Everything just feels so amplified, and Alec tries his best to tune everything out and focus on the soft sway of the subway cart.

On the next stop, a mob of people pile in due to the morning rush, and Alec feels himself being pushed. He stumbles for a moment and knocks into a woman.

“I’m so sorry, Miss,” Alec says, and blinks at the odd look she’s giving him. When his eyes travel down, he notices that his hand is on her bag.

Alec laughs awkwardly, trying to tug his hand away but to no avail. The woman’s eyes are wide now as Alec tugs his hand harder, though it’s still attached to her bag and, _fuck,_ he must be giving people the wrong idea.

“Hey, watch it,” someone says from behind him as the train starts to move and Alec sways heavily on his feet, bumping into a few people. He keeps muttering apologies and he’s pulling with all his might but both of his hands seem to be superglued to the pole and the purse.

Alec is starting to panic, and he feels multiple pairs of eyes on him. He keeps tugging on the pole, and he doesn’t understand why he doesn’t having control of his own hands.

“Hey, kid, let go of the lady’s bag,” a man says sternly from behind him.

“I’m _trying_ ,” Alec says, trying not to let too much panic bleed into his voice. The lady is tugging harshly on her purse, her eyes wide, and Alec is positive that this looks like the worst mugging in history.

The train pulls to a stop, _his_ stop, and Alec gives three rough tugs before the pole actually breaks out of its place, still in Alec’s hand.

People around him are gasping and whispering to themselves, and Alec feels his other hand drop from the lady’s purse. His eyes dart from his free hand to the one holding the pole, and he suddenly remembers that _oh yeah_ , he needs to get off at this stop. He shoves through the group of shocked New Yorkers and just as he manages to get out of the door, pole and all, the pole drops from his hands.

Alec stares at his palms, perplexed as he hears the familiar chime of the subway doors closing from behind him. His palms look normal, and it feels like there’s no logical explanation for what the hell just happened in there. Alec is mostly just grateful he didn’t see anyone recording him.

While staring at his palms, he notices the brown leather of his watch and glances it at, remembering how late he is to his morning class. He runs through the station, up the stairs and to his school, silently cursing under his breath and trying not to touch anything on the way.

He arrives with a minute to spare, panting like crazy as he slips into his usual seat next to one of his closest friends, Raj. Raj gives him a look, narrowing his eyes.

“You okay, Alec?” Raj asks, leaning over the side of his desk to give Alec a curious stare.

“Fine,” Alec responds, though it comes out a few octaves higher than intended.

“Everyone take your seats, please. Class is about to start,” the teacher says, promptly beginning his lecture. His teacher is a short, old man with grey hair and glasses, overall a nice, goofy guy. His class is one Alec enjoys taking.

Today, though, Alec can’t help but be distracted. He spends a frustrated minute debating whether to take out his notebook and pen, because he has no clue how he’d explain getting those stuck to his hands to Raj or anyone else in his class. Taking a breath, he dives into his bag and pulls them out, dropping them quickly on the table in front of him before they can stick.

Alec tries his best to focus, but, just like in his bedroom, all of his senses seem to be amplified. He can hear the person in the front row clicking their pen as if they were doing it right next to Alec’s ear. There’s a girl all the way by the wall on the right who keeps blowing bubbles with her gum and popping it, and every pop gives Alec goosebumps.

Alec clears his throat and shakes his head, trying to focus on his professor. He manages to tune in to the lecture before he’s distracted again by a guy in the back row eating a BLT. Alec can smell the bacon as if it was right under his nose.

When his professor goes to write on the chalkboard, Alec visibly flinches when the chalk scrapes against the blackboard. His heart is racing, and he’s panicking due to the sensory overload.

The clock handles tick slowly, as if taunting him, and Alec shuts his eyes, trying to focus on his breathing.

“You sure you’re okay?” Raj asks from beside him, and Alec nods sharply.

There’s no use in trying to focus on the lecture at this point, so Alec tries to focus on the ticking of the clock. He lets out a shaky breath, and opens his eyes, watching the clock intently. The rest of the world zones out, and finally Alec manages to find a little peace. He realizes that when he focuses on just one sense at a time, it’s not quite as overwhelming.

But what does it _mean_?

The sharp sound of multiple people moving shakes Alec’s concentration, and rattles in his brain like noisy pots and pans. Alec starts packing his things, trying to touch them as little as possible, not realizing that the hour and a half had passed with him just staring at the clock.

“Hey, dude, I’m gonna hit up Blockheads, I’ve been craving their quesadillas. Wanna come?” Raj asks, as Alec stands. They start walking to the door as Alec shakes his head.

“Not today. I have to study and write a paper for my Advanced Criminal Law class,” Alec half lies. He does have to study and write a paper at some point, but he knows that if he doesn’t figure out what the hell is happening to his body first, he’s gonna lose his mind.

“I hear you, man. Good luck,” Raj says, once they reach the hallway. “I’ll text you. Maybe we can hang out some other time.”

“Sounds good,” Alec says, giving Raj a genuine smile and a small salute as they part, not wanting to become permanently attached to his friend.

Alec tucks his hands into his jacket pockets to keep them out of trouble and walks in the opposite direction of his home. He keeps rubbing his fingers together in his pocket, staring down at the ground in front of him as he walks.

 _Focus_ , he reminds himself.

Eventually his wandering takes him to a Manhattan pier. He finds an empty warehouse along the walkway and stops there, glancing to the side to check no one’s around. He drops his bag on the ground and takes his jacket off. There’s this raw energy under his skin that he can’t quite explain. Alec needs to understand everything that’s happened today, and something in his gut is tugging at him to try something new. Maybe, just maybe, if he can get all of his senses in check, he can use it to his advantage.

He sees a metal bar not too high up. If he jumps, Alec thinks he might be able to reach it. He follows the bar with his eyes, and sees where it leads. It doesn’t look too safe.

His sticky finger trick hasn’t played up again since being on the subway this morning - which is somewhat annoying, given how careful he’s been about not touching stuff - but if he can get it to work now, then maybe he could successfully climb the weird maze.

Alec squats down before jumping, just managing to grab onto the metal with his hands. He hoists himself up, planting his feet on the bar and balancing. He navigates the structure, trying to be careful. Offhandedly, Alec notices things that feel different.

For starters, he feels more balanced. As he walks across the narrow beam, he doesn’t feel unsteady. He reached a taller and flimsier metal structure and jumps again to grab one of the bars. Alec has always been fit, but never like this. On a good day Alec can do maybe fifteen pull ups. Now, Alec thinks, he could probably give Jace a run for his money.

After another few minutes, once Alec is pretty high off the ground, is when he gets too confident and swings onto another pole and slips. He yelps as he loses his grip and propels forward at first. His initial instinct is to grab anything he can, but everything is suddenly out of reach.

 _Well, this is how I’m gonna die I guess_ , he thinks. He can see the headlines now: LOCAL IDIOT CRACKS SKULL OPEN IN WAREHOUSE SWINGING OFF WOBBLY METAL STRUCTURE _._

Panicking, Alec closes his eyes, bracing himself for the fall when he notices he’s just - hanging. Swaying softly side to side in midair. His hand is still over his head, and he realizes that’s what’s keeping him from plummeting to his death - or at least to a few broken bones.

There’s a weird sticky substance coming from his wrist, and he blinks. When Alec closes his hand around it, he realizes it’s webbing, similar to what he felt this morning but thicker and stronger.

_What if…?_

Alec gets a good grip on the webbing and pulls himself up, beginning to climb the webbing like a rope in gym class.

The rope is sticky and strong, managing to hold his weight and only swinging a little as he climbs it. He’s once again surprised at his sudden strength, and when he reaches the ceiling, Alec glances down before looking back up.

He remembers this morning, and the weird way his hands stuck on the pole and the woman’s bag. Feeling bold for a minute, as if his day wasn’t crazy enough, Alec places his palm on the ceiling. When he tries to tug his hand back, it stays put. Only when he really focuses does his hand fall from the ceiling.

Curious, Alec repositions his hand and pulls himself up until his feet hit the ceiling as well. Slowly, he lets go of the webbing, and he finds himself still stuck to the ceiling, like some insane magical power is holding him up. He looks ahead of him and tentatively puts one hand in front of the other, spider crawling on the ceiling.

Alec can’t wrap his head around what’s happening. It’s insane, and yet somehow makes perfect and total sense.

He crawls to one of the walls and moves down it before backflipping off it and landing perfectly on his two feet. He’s doing things he’s never dreamed of before, and yet everything in his body is telling him that this is _right_.

Alec looks at his palms again and grins. He can hear the buzz of the city in his ears, and smells the air from the sea not too far away.

He flicks his hand up and presses down his middle and ring finger to his palm, causing the webbing to shoot from his wrist. Alec climbs it and swings back and forth, getting some momentum before shooting another web and swinging from that one, cheering throughout it all.

___

_“It’s three in the morning, Alec, what is it?”_

_“Spider,” Alec replies, pointing at the curtain near his bed where he last saw the spider dangling on a thread. His father chuckles from the doorway, rubbing his eyes and walking into Alec’s room to inspect the situation that made Alec shout in the middle of the night._

_After a minute of looking at the curtains, Robert says a soft ‘ah-ha!’ and tucks his hand into the curtains, pulling it back out with a tiny black spider resting on it._

_Alec immediately flinches back, but Robert shakes his head, sitting on the bed next to Alec._

_“Come on, buddy,” Robert says, encouraging Alec to move a little closer, the spider sitting calmly on his palm. “You know I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.”_

_Slowly, Alec crawls closer to his dad and looks at the tiny black spider curiously. Alec’s floppy dark hair falls in front of his eyes, and he pushes it back with his hands._

_“Spiders are marvelous creatures, Alec, there’s no need to be afraid,” Robert says softly as the spider crawls to one of his fingers before stopping. “Did you know that the silk they produce is one of the strongest materials in the world? Scientists haven’t been able to recreate it, even with all the technology we have today.”_

_“Woah,” Alec breathes out, his chubby little fingers grasping the sheets as he stares at the innocent little spider._

_“This little guy, while he can seem creepy at first, is totally harmless,” Robert says, opening up the window in Alec’s room. He gently pushes the spider from his palm and the spider crawls around the window and to the outdoors._

_Alec watches the movements with wide, curious eyes._

_“Now go to sleep,” Robert says, getting off the bed and ruffling Alec’s hair. “You have swimming tomorrow, and we can’t be late for the third time in a row.”_

_“‘Kay, Dad. Night,” Alec replies, yawning and rubbing his eyes before curling up under his covers._

_From the doorway, Robert smiles, closing the door behind him._

_“Goodnight, son.”_

___

Alec spends most of the following day learning about his new abilities through practice, swinging back and forth on spider webbing that comes from his wrists. It should be the weirdest thing in the world, but Alec’s made peace with it. Alec learns that he also has awfully quick reflexes, which he realizes when he almost drops his coffee that morning and manages to catch it right before it hits the ground without spilling a drop.

Alec notices after he hits the gym on that afternoon that he’s more fit. He’s stronger, faster, and, honestly, has more defined abs than he did before, which he’s not going to complain about.

Everything is so new and so weird. Alec still doesn’t have a definitive answer to what’s happened to him. It’s just a learning process.

He’s starving when he gets home from the gym so he starts making dinner, and he’s around halfway through when his phone beeps with a message.

_Image Attachment: When was the last time you saw a poodle spray painted pink? I might die from cuteness._

Alec can’t stop the grin from rising to his face at the adorable text from Magnus, even though he replies with some crying emojis. He’s just adding garlic to the pan when Jace walks through the door, smiling from ear to ear.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Alec asks, even though he can’t help smiling at his brother’s happiness. Jace’s arrival distracts him from thinking about the weird shit happening to his body and all the family drama he can’t push from his mind, so he grabs at the conversational opportunity desperately.

Jace scoffs. “There’s nothing wrong with my face,” he says, offended. “I bet you everyone in the city agrees with me.”

Alec snorts. “I know for a fact that Magnus does not think you’re attractive.”

As Jace disappears into his room with a huff, Alec can’t help but laugh as he starts serving up dinner. Jace emerges a few moments later in a pair of laid back sweatpants and his old baseball hoodie from high school, the one that had his name and number emblazoned on the back: LIGHTWOOD, 14. Alec remembers the day Jace had got it, running his fingers over the name with a wistful smile.

“Lightwoods,” Izzy had said, “all together.”

Jace swipes a piece of garlic bread from the countertop and Alec swats him. “I mean, let’s just say I believed that for a moment. All you’ve done is prove that you and Magnus spend your time together talking about me. In fact, you know what? I’m pretty sure I’ve heard you through the wall. And why wouldn’t you?”

Jace is standing in the middle of the kitchen, arms splayed and a smug smile on his face. Alec throws the tea towel at his head and picks up their plates.

“I’m surprised you can hear anything with your head that far up your ass,” Alec says as he sits down.

Jace just laughs and throws himself into the chair beside Alec. “What d’you do today?” he asks, when they’ve both started eating.

Alec shrugs, not sure if he’s ready to share what’s happening to him with Jace. His brother is his best friend, but he’s not sure how Jace would take it if he came out with _by the way, I can shoot spider webs from my wrists now and stick to the ceiling._ “Studied for a bit. Went for a walk,” he says. “You?”

“Same as usual,” Jace says. “The kids at school are getting ready for outdoor track and field.” He munches some of his pasta.  “Oh, by the way, how were things at home the other day?” Jace asks.

Alec licks his lips. “At Hodge’s?” he asks. He focusses on his food, feeling Jace’s eyes on him.

“Yeah. Were there any skeletons?” Jace asks after a beat’s pause.

Alec huffs a short laugh through his nose. “Funny you should say that,” he says. “I found some of Mom and Dad’s stuff, actually.”

“Yeah?” Jace’s eyes have lit up and he’s smiling fondly.

“Yeah.” Alec fiddles with his fork, still not looking at Jace. “Hey, I was wondering -” he stops, shrugs. “Do you think Hodge ever hid anything from us?”

Jace blinks at Alec as he twirls spaghetti around his fork and slurps it up. “I don’t know, dude.” Jace chews thoughtfully. “Is this ‘cause you found some junk in the attic?”

“It’s not junk,” Alec says defensively. “He just wouldn’t answer any of my questions about our parents. We have a right to know, don’t we?”

Jace watches him. “It’s hard for him to talk about, Alec,” Jace says, his voice going a little softer, like he’s trying to avoid a fight. “He’s said before - we didn’t just lose our parents, he lost two of his best friends. That whole time of his life, it’s a painful reminder.”

Alec hums, unconvinced. He plays with some of his spaghetti. “You don’t think he’s ever lied to us, then?”

“Hodge?” Jace asks, eyebrows raised. “No, he wouldn’t. I trust him with my life, Alec. No, better - I trust him with _your_ life. Izzy’s. Max’s. I know he would never do anything to hurt us and he wouldn’t keep anything from us. Not about this.”

There’s a pause where neither of them says anything. Then, Jace clears his throat.

“You know that, right?” he asks.

Alec glances up at Jace and gives him a small smile that even he knows is unconvincing. “Yeah,” he says, hating how the lie sounds to his own ears. “Yeah, of course. Hodge loves us.”

Jace narrows his eyes slightly and then relents with a smile, and for once Alec is glad that Jace isn’t pushing. That is, until Jace pipes up with:

“You’ve been acting kinda weird, the last couple of days. Are you okay?”

Alec nods, a shade too quickly. Jace raises an eyebrow.

“And, like,” Jace continues, “you look really buff.”

Alec sends Jace his best _what the fuck_ look. Jace rolls his eyes with a laugh.

“I’m not being weird, I’m just saying,” Jace goes on. “Have you been working out or something? I thought we were gym buddies, bro.”

Alec latches on to a way out of the conversation with gusto and shakes his head, snorting a _pfft_ noise. “We’re not gym buddies,” he says. “Gym buddies are supposed to be equal level and I can bench press _at least_ twenty more than you can.”

“Aw, you have to lie to make yourself feel better,” Jace coos. “If you’re trying to get in shape for Magnus, I can help you.”

Alec rolls his eyes heavily and tries to ignore Jace, focussing instead on finishing his food.

“No, actually,” Jace continues, apparently oblivious, “I’m pretty sure he likes you just as you are.” There’s a moment’s pause before Jace smirks. “You’re blushing!”

“Shut up,” Alec says, even though he can feel that his cheeks are warm.

Jace laughs in delight. “Izzy told me about how you bumped into Magnus at her internship. It sounds like it was _gold_ , I can’t believe I missed it.” He hums. “I can’t wait for Max to finally meet him one day.”

“You’re so embarrassing,” Alec complains, mostly half-heartedly. Jace pokes his tongue out.

“You’re still good to pick Max up tomorrow, yeah?”

Alec nods. “Sure, Hodge asked me on Tuesday. I thought we could go to Pure Thai?”

“Yeah, it’d be good to spend some time together,” Jace says. He finishes up his food and then scrapes back his chair. As he passes, he claps Alec on the shoulder.

“Where are you off to?” Alec asks, turning in his chair. Jace grins at him.

“I have a date,” Jace says. “Don’t wait up.”

Once he’s cleared the plates and cleaned up the kitchen, Alec heads to his room. He can hear Jace singing in the shower and resolves himself to the fact he probably won’t get much studying done, but tries to start with good intentions anyway.

Setting his laptop on the bedside table, Alec then flops onto his bed with a printed transcript of a court case and a bunch of highlighters. He picks up one and spins it between his fingers as he scans the text, and he manages to get about halfway through it before the shower shuts off and his mind wanders in the sudden silence.

His thoughts float back to the conversation with Jace at dinner, and then to Tuesday morning at Hodge’s.

Alec groans and throws the highlighter down on the bedspread, also discarding the case notes. He opens his laptop and types in a name he suspects is at the centre of all this: Valentine Morgenstern.

The hits come back straight away, offering Alec a load of articles and press releases about Morgenstern and Idris Corp’s achievements. Everything Alec finds is all praise for Valentine’s incredible achievements - whoever is working in Idris’ PR team is damn good at their job. Frustrated, he tries searching for some of the other names in the documents he’d found earlier.

The Herondales’ names yield more interesting results. Alec finds a local paper, The Daily Bugle, that reported the story of Stephen Herondale seventeen years ago. Herondale had reportedly sued Morgenstern for medical negligence during the treatment of his wife, Celine, but during the investigation it had come to light that Herondale himself had played a part in her death. At the conclusion of the case Herondale had accepted a plea deal, but he’d been convicted of his wife’s murder and had to pay damages to Morgenstern.   

Saying that the fact that Morgenstern escaped criminal charges and his accuser ended up being charged with the crime instead seems shady is a huge understatement, but Alec can’t wrap his head around it at the moment.

He slumps back on his pillow, running a hand over his face. Lying there on his bed, Alec stares up at the ceiling, still feeling a little like he’s going to vibrate out of his skin. He lets his thoughts swirl around in his head - everything that Hodge said, everything he’s researched about the Herondales. Like an itch he can’t quite reach to scratch, he can feel that the answer is lying there, just out of his reach.

Alec sighs, closing the lid of his laptop and placing it on the floor by his bed. He swings his legs over the side and is about to stand up when a glint of silver catches his eye. The embossed text on Valentine Morgenstern’s business card is shining under the lamplight.

He slides the card from his desk and holds it up in front of him. _That_ , he supposes, _is one way to get some answers._

___

Stepping into the atrium of Idris Corp, the building is just as impressive as it was the last time Alec was here. The holographic night sky projection is slightly different to how he remembers it being, now showing a bright phoenix constellation.

Alec just has time to pat down his jean pocket to check the photo is still there before Valentine is stepping out of the elevator and waving briefly in his direction. Valentine crosses the atrium to where Alec is standing.

“Mr Lightwood,” he says, smiling charmingly and holding out his hand. “How wonderful to see you again.”

“Thank you for meeting me,” Alec says, shaking Valentine’s hand.

“My secretary said you had some questions?” Valentine asks, leading Alec to the elevator he’d been in before and waving his ID card over the security scanner. “I’m not surprised you couldn’t stay away from Idris Corp once you got your first taste.”

Alec blinks at Valentine and then huffs a short laugh. “My questions aren’t about Idris Corp, exactly,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck, where the pain has been flaring on and off since he’d last been to Idris. “They’re actually about my parents.”

Valentine’s expression falters momentarily before he turns a sympathetic gaze to Alec. “Of course,” he says. “It’s only natural you’d want to know more about them. You must have been so young when they passed away.”

“I was eleven,” Alec says, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. He clears his throat. “How did you meet them?”

“I met your mother first,” Valentine says. The elevator comes to a halt on one of the empty floors they’d been to before and Valentine leads Alec out, taking him to an empty conference room. Valentine sits at the head of the table and gestures for Alec to make himself comfortable. “We had a mutual friend at college and he introduced us. Then, through Maryse, I met Robert. We both had an affinity for science and a determination to fix nature’s imperfections. I have a vision for this world, Alec, and your father was one of the few people who came close to sharing it.”

“How did mom fit into it all?” Alec asks.

“Ah, Maryse,” Valentine says, settling back in his chair. He crosses one leg over the other and laces his fingers together, resting them in his lap. “Your mother was a very gifted lawyer. She led my legal team with strict efficiency and handled my most difficult cases.”

Alec is careful to keep his tone neutral when he says, “were there a lot of those?” He meets Valentine’s eye. “Difficult cases?”

Valentine purses his lips. “Speaking plainly? A scientific research giant like Idris doesn’t succeed without making a few people unhappy, so, yes, there were some difficult cases from time to time.”

Alec leans back in his chair and slides a palm across the table. “I think I came across one when I was studying for my medical law class last semester, actually,” he says, praying Valentine doesn’t smell the bullshit he’s spouting. “Herondale versus Morgenstern.”

Valentine’s jaw goes tight and his eyes flash dangerously before he looks away over the city. A shadow masks his face, and the frown on Valentine’s face almost makes him look devious.

“Herondale?” he repeats. “I meet a lot of people, Alec. Names don’t always stick in my mind.”

“Mr Herondale’s wife died, so he sued you for medical negligence and got charged with her murder,” Alec says, brow wrinkling and a little wryness creeping into his tone. “I’d have thought that would be one you’d remember.”

Valentine’s lips curve upwards ever so slightly. “Yes, I do now,” he says. “Nasty business. His wife, she had a fatal brain disorder. I was developing a cure, but it hadn’t yet progressed to human trials. He pushed me to use it anyway, and, when I wouldn’t, he took matters into his own hands.”

Alec’s eyebrows shoot up. “He injected his wife with a treatment that hadn’t been tested yet?” he asks, disbelieving.

“Desperate times,” Valentine says, his voice taking on a haunting quality, “call for desperate measures. People will do anything to protect things that they love.”

Alec nods distractedly, trying to absorb what he’s just heard. It still doesn’t feel right, but Alec can’t explain it. Regardless, Valentine has been able to give him something in the past few minutes that Hodge hasn’t given him for years - answers.

“If you knew my parents, does that mean you knew Hodge Starkweather?” Alec asks, after a short pause.

“Hodge Starkweather?” Valentine asks. He smiles properly, this time. “Yes, Hodge and I were good friends. In fact,” Valentine says, tilting his chin with a nostalgic expression, “we corresponded for a while, several years ago.”

“Really?” Alec asks, before he can stop himself. Another thing Hodge hadn’t mentioned.

“Yes, although we’ve fallen out of touch recently,” Valentine says. He inclines his head. “Perhaps I should reach out to him again. Thank you for reminding me, Alec.”

“Oh,” says Alec. “Sure.”

Valentine smiles. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask?” he says, with a glance at his watch. “If there’s nothing pressing, we could perhaps arrange another time to talk. I’m afraid I’m a busy man, and I should be getting on.”

Alec nods. “Of course,” he says. “I can't think of anything at the moment. It's a lot to take in.”

“It must be hard,” Valentine says, “having so many questions and not getting anywhere. I’m glad I got to share my story with you and provide some answers you’ve been seeking.” He pushes back his chair and stands up, Alec following suit. “I often think about your parents,” he adds, a little offhandedly. “Perhaps you and Isabelle - and your brother, too - would like to join me for dinner, one evening?”

Valentine gestures for them to leave the room. Alec frowns a little, confused. “Jace?” he asks, “or Max?”

“Max, isn’t it?” Valentine asks, looking back at Alec as he shuts the door to the conference room. “Your little brother. Maryse was pregnant with him when she left Idris.”

“Yeah,” Alec says, and a shiver crawling over his skin tells him not to mention that he actually has two brothers. “I didn’t realise mom wasn’t working here when she died.”

Valentine hums. “Maryse decided not to return to work when her maternity leave finished,” he says. “I believe Robert also took an extended period of leave so they could spend some time with you as a family.”

Alec nods, mind drowning in memories. He remembers finishing third grade for summer and seeing his dad there to pick him up, which had never happened before. After that, Robert and Maryse were always around, making a home for their family - Alec and Izzy, baby Max, and seven year old Jace, who they’d just adopted.

From then on, it was two years of bliss for Alec. He had everything he could have ever dreamed of. He was too naive at the time to think that it could all be ripped away from him in one night.

“Alec,” Valentine calls as Alec is about to leave Idris Corp, pulling Alec out of his thoughts., “I meant what I said. Please extend the dinner invitation to your family - I’ll have my secretary pass on the details.”

“Thank you, Mr Morgenstern,” Alec says, and he manages to smile. He’s grateful for everything Valentine’s told him, of course, but he has no intention of letting him anywhere near his family. “Have a nice evening.”

On the subway ride home, Alec keeps going over everything Valentine has told him. It’s helped fill in some of the blanks, especially about his parents - but it doesn’t explain why Hodge was so reluctant to give Alec more information.

He also can’t get Celine Herondale’s death out of his head; it’s the one sticking point he keeps coming back to. Seventeen years ago a woman died, and Alec’s mother and Valentine overturned the charges against Valentine so much so that the woman’s husband ended up going to prison for life. Then, less than a year later, Maryse and Robert had left the company they’d worked for since college?

Alec drops his head back against the seat and closes his eyes, knowing there’s more to the picture than can see right now. It’s infinitely frustrating.

And Valentine’s comment, about Alec only having one brother. He supposes Valentine not knowing about Jace makes sense if Maryse and Robert left Idris Corp before they adopted him, but surely that was the kind of news you’d share with a close friend, as Valentine says he was with Alec’s parents?

Alec’s jittery on the walk home, his senses on fire again. The thoughts swirling in his mind aren’t helping, so he tries to block everything out and focus on his breathing. He concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to calm the onslaught on his senses.

His key scrapes against the lock, metal on metal, when he tries to open the door, and the high pitched sound makes Alec cringe. He really needs to get into bed and sleep everything off - the past couple of days have been a huge trip.

Alec pushes open the front door, the first thing he sees is Jace, with his back to him, handing someone on the couch a drink. Alec closes the door and shrugs out of his jacket, and he’s about to hang it up in the hall closet when he sees who’s on the couch.

“Shit,” he breathes, dropping his head back against the door as the guilt crashes over him, “Max.”

Max stares stonily at Alec from the couch, then returns his gaze to the TV.

“I’m so sorry,” Alec says, hurrying over to his brother. He takes a seat in the armchair beside the couch. “I completely forgot. I’m sorry.”

Max just rolls his eyes and keeps his focus on the TV.

“Where were you, Alec?” Jace asks. He seems tired, rubbing a hand over his face.

“I was just...” Alec says, at loss for words as his gaze flicks between his brothers. “I had some stuff to take care of.”

“Whatever,” Max mumbles, tapping his foot on the floor and glaring daggers at the TV.

Alec sighs, looking to Jace for guidance, and Jace just shakes his head and points his thumb at Alec’s door. Getting the message loud and clear, Alec’s shoulders sag. He opens his mouth to say something to Max but decides against it. Max has a proper reason to be mad at Alec, and, apart from apologising, there’s not much he can do about it now.

He goes to bed feeling like crap, and just hopes that he’ll be able to fix things tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **tw** for death and just a light mention of blood. read up until the phone call and then skip to the italicized part if u wanna avoid it!!  <3
> 
> writing highlights of ch3:  
> 
> 
>   * charl while writing - 1:39 pm: ok here we go 1:40 pm: i can’t do this
>   * magnus is so dependable….like cereal….but also sweet…………. - charl
>   * car park - british trash charley 2k17
>   * “ive come to the realisation that i hate writing” - charl
>   * “this part hurts a lot. i lov it“ - elle
> 

> 
> thank u again to [ceci](http://daddariossmile.tumblr.com) for beta'ing ur an angel!!!

“Max,” Alec says again, rapping on Jace’s bedroom door with his knuckles, “do you want breakfast?”

When the only reply he gets is the muffled cheering of a crowd from Max’s video game, he drops his hand with a sigh. 

“Max,” he tries one last time, “can I get you anything?”

“Go away, Alec,” comes Max’s voice, after a beat. “I already ate and I don’t want anything from you.”

Alec leans his head against the door, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he says, like it isn’t the fifth time he’s apologised this morning. 

“I don’t care,” Max replies, and the sounds of his game filter through the door again, louder than before. Alec takes the hint and walks away, pinching the bridge of his nose. He makes his way to the kitchen, where Jace is sitting at the table, dressed in his running gear, one foot resting on the chair beside him as he ties his shoelaces.

“Morning,” Alec says, glancing at Jace.

Jace doesn’t say anything. Alec rolls his eyes and pulls a box of cereal from the cupboard. When he goes to get a bowl, he notices two plates with toast crumbs sitting by the sink, and two dirty coffee mugs. 

“I’m going for a run,” Jace announces, somewhat unnecessarily. Alec bites down on the temptation to gesture to Jace’s outfit and say,  _ really? I thought you were going scuba diving _ . “I’ll be back in, like, an hour. Try not to piss Max off anymore while I’m gone.”

Alec stops pouring his cereal with a groan. “Look, I forgot, okay?” he says, irritated. “I said I was sorry.”

“Hey,” Jace says, and when Alec spins to look at him Jace has his hands up in front of him. “I’m just saying.”

Alec glares at him and crosses to the fridge to get the milk. In the time it takes him to do so, Jace leaves with a whistle, pocketing his headphones on his way out. 

Great. Now Alec is stuck in the apartment with a moody sixteen year old who’s totally pissed off with him. 

Alec decides to eat breakfast on their small balcony, hoping that the fresh air will clear his mind and soothe his irritation. He grabs his laptop before heading out there - there’s no point in trying to talk to Max before he’s calmed down, so Alec might as well take advantage of the quiet. 

He starts reading the class notes for his Family Law lecture, pausing occasionally to look out at the view. Over the railings of the balcony, he can see the tiny people wandering around in Battery Park going about their weekends, unaware of Alec up above, watching over them. 

Alec moves onto reading an assigned paper and he’s about halfway through when he’s startled by Jace rapping on the door to the balcony. He’s just wearing a towel and he runs a hand through his wet hair as he speaks.

“I’m just about to kick Max out my room so I can get changed, then we’ll drop him home, yeah?”

After around twenty minutes, Alec catches sight of his two brothers inside the apartment, so he packs up his stuff and brings it inside. Max crosses his arms and turns away from him with a huff, making the biggest deal of ignoring Alec, as if Alec wasn’t already aware Max was pissed at him.

He bites back a remark, knowing his temper won’t help the situation, and slips into his shoes. Jace eyes them both with something like fond irritation, then twirls his car keys around his finger as he heads out the door. Max hurries after him without sparing Alec a glance.

Alec sighs and locks up the apartment, then follows his brothers to the garage.

The drive to Hodge’s is tense, Jace’s off-key singing to the radio the only thing that breaks the silence between the siblings. Alec tries to block it out, his new hyper senses making the tuneless singing seem like Jace is yelling in his ear. He’s gotten better at controlling his senses in the last couple of days, playing around with them whenever he gets a moment to himself. 

Max has the hood of his jumper pulled up and is staring sullenly out the window. Alec glances back at him once, and it’s enough to make guilt break over him like a wave. 

Maybe Max should have accepted that Alec made a mistake and apologised, but it was Alec’s fault for making the mistake in the first place. He’d vowed to protect his siblings, and he’d let his baby brother down. 

“Max,” Alec says softly. 

Max doesn’t reply, but his eyes do flicker away from the window momentarily in Alec’s direction.

“I am sorry,” Alec says. 

Max shrugs and twists in his seat so he’s facing the window even more. “Okay,” he says quietly, and Alec sighs, slumping against the back of the car seat in relief. 

He spends the rest of the journey trying to shift his perception of things in the mid and far distance, alternating between the two. Too soon, they’re pulling up outside Hodge’s, and even though Alec is hopeful he’s made things right with Max now, he’s not ready for the confrontation that’s inevitably about to ensue. 

Once he’s parked, Jace leads them out of the car and opens the front door of Hodge’s house. Hodge and Izzy are in the living room, Izzy on the couch and Hodge standing with his arms folded over his chest, looking beyond pissed. Alec mentally prepares himself to deal with whatever shit Hodge is about to throw at him as he follows his brother into the house.

Max brings up the rear, shutting the door behind him carefully. Everyone looks at him, and Max glances to Alec, then to Hodge. He crosses the room and takes a seat beside Izzy when she beckons him over, dumping his bag down by the couch. Then she stills, her gaze swivelling between Alec and Hodge.

Hodge is standing in the middle of the room, glaring daggers at Alec. His shoulders are squared and, even though his arms are crossed, there’s nothing defensive about the gesture; the snarl on his face just confirms he’s ready for a fight. Alec feels something curl in his stomach, warning him that the worst is yet to come.

“Where  _ were  _ you?” Hodge asks angrily. It’s the same question Jace had asked him earlier, but the venomous blame behind it makes something equal parts shamed and furious rise up in Alec’s chest.

“I was busy and I made a mistake,” Alec says, holding his hands up placatingly. It’s not like he hasn’t made himself feel like shit over the situation already, and he doesn’t need Hodge preaching at him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not good enough,” Hodge snaps. Izzy makes a noise of protest and begins to argue, but Hodge holds his hand up to stop her. “You’re twenty four years old, Alec, you should be able to put aside your own life and take care of your brother - my  _ son _ \- when you need to.”

“Your son?” Alec repeats incredulously, at the same time Max groans frustratedly.

“Can you guys just drop it?” Max asks, annoyed, but he goes ignored.

“You know damn well I’ve raised you all like my own,” Hodge says. “One of the things both your parents and I raised you to do was take responsibility and look after your family when they need it. Your brother needed you yesterday.”

Jace holds up his hands. “Look, why don’t we all just calm down?” he starts, but Alec throws him a furious look and snaps his gaze back to Hodge. 

“Don’t you dare talk to me about family,” Alec says, voice cracking a little on the last word. “I made a mistake and I apologised, but you? Families don’t keep secrets, Hodge. Families  _ trust  _ each other. Did you forget that, or do you just not care?”

“Of course I care,” Hodge snaps, exasperated. “The four of you are all I care about, Alec.”

“No, you don’t get to do that,” Alec says, shaking his head. “You don’t get to act like you put us first when this whole time you’ve been lying about everything. Why won’t you tell us about mom and dad? What are you trying to hide?”

“Alec,” Hodge says, through gritted teeth, “I’m not hiding anything.”

“We both know that’s not true,” Alec says bitterly. “You know, our parents wouldn’t have lied to us like this. They would have trusted us.”

“Your parents weren’t the saints you think they were, Alec,” he says derisively, rolling his eyes, a gesture that makes Alec’s temper flare again. Something inside Alec breaks and he lets loose, yelling every pent up emotion he’s kept inside. 

“Well, why couldn’t they stick around and tell us about their past themselves, huh?” Alec spits out. “What about when we needed them? Where are they? Did they not think it was their responsibility to be here and take care of us?”

“Alec -” Izzy tries.

“Of course they did,” Hodge says, almost exasperated, “but they were Lightwoods. They knew the consequences of their actions and they accepted them. That was the price they paid.”

Alec swipes his tears angrily and gives a bitter laugh. 

“No,” he says, “them not being here, that was the price  _ we  _ paid.”

A charged silence fills the air. Hodge refuses to move, still glaring at Alec and stubbornly refusing to say anything. The tension is stifling and no one speaks. Alec pulls his gaze from Hodge and catches his siblings all looking away. He’s suddenly overwhelmingly pissed off at how alone he feels in this fight and, with one last look at Hodge, who’s still looking at Alec like he wishes Alec had never been dumped on him, Alec spins on his heel and leaves. 

With his heightened senses, he feels the slam of the door vibrate in his bones.

___

Alec puts his head in his hands and curls in on himself on the bench he’s sitting on, forcing himself to breathe. He’s been wandering for most of the day, and he can tell the sun is setting. Alec lifts his head, his elbows still on his knees as he gazes at downtown Manhattan. 

The excited buzz of people’s conversations washes over him, but he tries to ignore it the best he can, focussing on one particular point. He’s learnt over the last couple of days that pushing all other distractions away and concentrating on one thing is the best way for him to manage his new heightened senses, or else they completely overwhelm him. 

It’s comforting, in a way, knowing that even though he’s on his own, there are still people around. Not that any of them spare him a second glance.

His heart feels heavy in his chest. He’s alone, and sad, and can’t go back to that house to pretend like everything in his family life is totally okay because it’s not and will never be, and he’s tired of acting like it is. 

There’s only one person he wants to talk to right now. 

He takes his phone out of his pocket, ignoring the dozens of missed calls and texts from his family throughout the day. His phone is barely hanging on, already on 10%, but he’s determined now. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey,” Alec replies, smiling instantly at Magnus’ voice on the other line. 

“Hello, Alexander,” Magnus says softly, and Alec can vaguely hear a door shutting in the background.

“Sorry,” Alec says. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No, darling,” Magnus replies. “I’m at Ragnor’s house. He ended up with a nasty flu and needed someone to play doctor. I volunteered, like the wonderful and giving friend I am.” 

“I hope he gets better soon,” Alec says. They both go quiet for a moment.

“Is everything okay, Alec?” Magnus asks, his voice soft and comforting, soothing Alec’s frayed nerves and making the tension bleed out of his shoulders.

“Yeah,” Alec responds, a knee jerk reaction, before sighing. “Well, no. Not really.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Magnus asks, and Alec can’t help but smile. “You’re welcome to come over to Ragnor’s place and keep me company. The jerk’s been asleep for the past half hour thanks to some very strong medicine.” 

“I actually want to be alone right now, but thank you,” Alec says, and before he can chicken out he adds, “I just wanted to hear your voice.” 

Magnus makes a pleased sound on the other line as Alec chews on his lip. His phone beeps in his ear, and Alec pulls it away from his face to look at the notification alerting him that his phone is at 5%.

“Hey, I have to go. My phone’s about to die,” Alec says apologetically. 

“That’s alright,” Magnus replies, and Alec can almost see his expression right now. Magnus is probably tucked onto one side of the couch, his hair falling in front of his face like when he sends him morning selfies, smiling softly. Alec selfishly wishes he could run away from all his family drama and just be with Magnus. 

“Thank you for talking to me,” Alec says. 

“Anytime, Alec,” Magnus says. “I mean that.” 

“You too, you know. If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here for you,” Alec replies, scrubbing a hand over his face. Magnus laughs softly on the other side. 

“Thank you,” Magnus says. “Well, I hope everything turns out okay for you. See you soon, Alexander.”

“Bye, Magnus,” Alec says, pulling his phone away to hang up before realizing it’s died in his hands. Alec stares down at his phone, a sudden sense of loneliness enveloping him. Magnus is gone and he’s on his own.

Sighing, Alec gets up, stuffing his phone into his pocket and walking by the waterfront. He focuses on the sound of the water hitting the concrete, trying to let it relax him.

The New York City Ferry pulls in ahead of Alec to the pier, and Alec stops for a moment, watching the boat. He remembers the first time Hodge took him to ride it, because he’d been unbelievably terrified of being away from land, but Hodge had told him,  _ “In order to get over your fears, you need to face them.”  _

Alec hadn’t stopped shaking the whole ride, but at some point he lifted his hands over his head and cheered, because he felt like he was flying and he trusted Hodge to look after him. 

That was probably the first time Alec had openly decided to trust Hodge. 

Their relationship had never been easy. Hodge was nothing more than an acquaintance at first. Then, one night, his parents brought Alec, Jace, Izzy, and little baby Max over to Hodge’s house. There were tears in their eyes when the walked out of the door and into the pouring rain. 

Alec hadn’t known that was the last time he’d ever see his parents. 

From that day on, Alec learned to build a home in a house he never felt like he a belonged in, with a man who would disappear some nights and wouldn’t return till morning. 

Hodge was a mystery, an enigma, but he was all the Lightwood kids had. 

Alec is just tired of constantly being treated like a child. He wants to understand, for them to talk about it, but apparently Hodge would rather take his secrets to the grave than trust Alec. It’s a kick in the teeth to realise that someone you’ve trusted your whole life doesn’t trust you back.

Pulling himself away from the view over the water, Alec begins trudging back to the house. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and walks on, absently noting the buildings he passes on the way.

Alec rounds the corner into the street a couple of blocks over from Hodge’s. It’s lined with terracotta-bricked buildings, each a few stories high. The trees lining the road are dotted with new leaves and as Alec passes, an old red car pulls into a space and parks up. A family get out, chattering and laughing, and Alec feels a pang in his chest at the sight of them. 

He quickens his pace, his family still running through his mind. He tries to craft something to say to them, but everything comes out jumbled, a mix of words and emotions he can’t get a grip on. 

Alec passes a few people on the street walking the other way and carries on, scuffing at the ground with his foot as he walks. He knows he needs to apologise, but he’s still angry at Hodge - and hurt, too, that Hodge doesn’t trust them enough to share things with them about their family. Things they deserve to know.

Given that Alec hasn’t seen Hodge since that morning, he thinks his mind must be playing tricks on him when he catches sight of Hodge at the end of the street. But it isn’t - Hodge is there, and Alec is lifting his hand to wave when a deafening bang resounds in the street, kicking his heart rate up to a sprint. Alec ducks instinctively, shielding his head with his arms.

After a second, he looks up, glancing from left to right to try to figure out exactly what’s going on. He doesn’t have a clue what to do in a high intensity situation like this, but he does know he needs to find Hodge right now and get the hell out of there.

When Alec’s eyes find Hodge, he takes a step forward towards him, and then, for a moment, the world stops.

Almost in slow motion, Hodge doubles over, clutching at his stomach. He looks at Alec as he sinks to knees and collapses on the floor, bloodied hands scrabbling at his shirt. 

The houses and buildings on either side of him morph into one and all Alec can focus on is Hodge. He stumbles into a run as he rushes to Hodge’s side. 

“Hodge,” he manages, barely a whisper, and his head whips up to look around for someone to help them. He catches sight of a guy dressed in black bolting around a corner, the red circular tattoo on his neck and the look of panic on his face etching itself into Alec’s brain. 

“Alec -” Hodge gasps, pulling Alec’s attention away from the man in black and back to him. Hodge’s grey eyes are wide and pained, and he reaches for Alec with bloody hands. 

“Hey,” Alec says, trying to pull a reassuring smile from somewhere, “I’m here, you’re gonna be okay.”

Alec fumbles with pulling his phone out of his pocket and tries to call 911, before remembering his phone had died. He drops it beside Hodge’s body, ignoring it as it clatters to the ground, and helps Hodge put pressure on the ragged wound through his stomach.

There’s so much blood. Alec can feel his hands shaking and he hates how useless he feels. He calls desperately for help before refocusing on Hodge, whose breathing has become shallow and irregular. 

Alec hears people gathering around them, gasping and panicking, but he zones them out, only just managing to hear a man on the phone talking to the police. Hodge tries to smile at him, but Alec can see he’s in pain, and he needs the ambulance to get here on time. He needs someone to save Hodge. 

He can’t lose another parent. He can’t. 

Hodge isn’t going to die on them. He’s not going to leave them behind.

Hodge’s blood is warm and thick over his fingers, dark red against pale skin. He groans in pain and Alec shushes him weakly, despite the tears already welling in his eyes. 

“You’re okay, you’re gonna be okay,” Alec babbles. He presses down, trying to stem the bleeding, his own heart beating frantically against his chest. “It’s okay.”

"Alec," Hodge says, bloody hand brushing Alec's face before dropping limply to his side. Alec catches it in one hand, the other still pressing on the wound.

“I’m here,” Alec says, throat thick with emotion.

“Son..." 

Something flickers in Hodge's eyes and then he goes still, unseeing. Alec blinks at him, swallowing back his tears and exhaling.

“Hey,” Alec says, “Hodge. Look at me. You’re okay, you’re gonna be okay.”

When no response comes, Alec can feel the sob forming in his chest, his heart already shattering from what he subconsciously knows he’s lost. 

It starts to rain, but Alec can barely feel it through his numbness. 

“Hodge, please,” Alec begs, putting his forehead on Hodge’s unmoving chest and starting to cry. Sobs rip through his body and the world around him blurs.

___

Sirens blare through the streets as Alec stands in the hallway, his clothes soaked through. The smell of blood coming off his clothes is foul. He watches, from a distance, as the cop tells Izzy, Max, and Jace the news about Hodge. 

Hodge, who’s dead. 

When Izzy bursts into tears, Alec looks the other way. 

___

The tap water runs cold and Alec can’t stop scrubbing his hands. It feels like the blood is under his nails and has seeped into his skin permanently. The image of Hodge’s dead body blurs as his eyes fill with tears.

He scrubs his hands raw.

The blood doesn’t come off.

___

“Shh, I know,  _ mi hermano _ ,” Izzy says to Max soothingly, her voice slightly muffled by Max’s bedroom door. Even though Alec knows he doesn’t deserve her comfort, he selfishly takes it anyway, letting her voice wash over him. “Everything’s gonna be okay. I promise.” 

Alec leans against the wall outside of Max’s bedroom and closes his eyes. Max’s crying rings in his ears, Alec’s heart feeling like lead in his chest. Alec slides unsteadily down the wall and wraps his arms around his knees, wishing it didn’t feel like the end of the world.

___

_ “Why are we here? Mom? Dad?”  _

_ The car skids to a stop in front of a large house that Alec can barely make out through the rain. Thunder booms in the distance and Alec jumps. He never did like thunderstorms very much.  _

_ The four of them, he, Izzy, Jace and baby Max, are stuffed in the backseat as Maryse and Robert chat, whispering agitatedly and in the front. They’re on edge, Alec can tell.  _

_ Alec shifts in the back, exchanging concerned glances with his siblings. In a few quick movements, Robert and Maryse are out of the car, opening their umbrellas and knocking on the window of the backseat. Alec squints at his mother as she gestures for them to come outside, so he does what he’s told, despite that nauseating feeling in his gut telling him that all that this - the entire situation - is bad.  _

_ “Mom?” Alec tries, but the rain is loud and the wind is abrasive. Maryse huddles Jace and Alec under one umbrella while Robert huddles Izzy, holding a tiny Max, under the other. They make their way to the front of a two story house. It’s cute, with bricks lining the exterior and a small porch out in front.  _

_ Regardless, Alec has never seen this house in his life, and he doesn’t understand why they’re here now.  _

_ “Hodge!” Maryse shouts, knocking on the door. Within a moment, a tall man appears, with shaggy hair and wide grey eyes. He’s ordinary, someone you would pass by on the street and never think about again, and Alec hopelessly tries to understand what’s going on as he looks from the man and his mother.  _

_ The energy is charged around them, lightning rippling through the sky as Hodge and Maryse stare at each other. Then, Hodge’s gaze travels to the kids, and he and Alec lock eyes.  _

_ Alec is confused and just wants to go home, but he doesn’t dare voice any of that. Whatever Hodge sees in Alec’s eyes is enough for him to meet Maryse’s gaze again and nod once.  _

_ When Alec looks up at his mom, he can see she’s struggling to keep it together. He’s found her like this before, when he can’t sleep at 2am and he finds her sitting in the kitchen, staring down a mug of tea like it’ll give her all the answers to life. When his mom is stressed it’s clear in her posture, and right now she’s as stiff as a board.  _

_ Both Robert and Maryse crouch down and take turns hugging Jace and Izzy and ushering them inside Hodge’s house. When Maryse kisses the top of little Max’s head, Alec can see the tears welling up in her eyes. _

_ What’s going  _ on _? _

_ “Mom,” Alec says, searching her face for some kind of answer when she crouches down in front of him. “Mom, what -” _

_ “Shh, baby, just,” Maryse says, smoothing back Alec’s hair and cupping his head, trying her best to smile. Beside them, Robert is pinching the bridge of his nose, refusing the look at the house.  _

_ “I love you, Alec, you know that, right? So much, my little angel, so much,” Maryse says. She kisses his cheek and pulls him into her arms, hugging him tightly. Alec instantly wraps his arms around her, his mother’s hold a familiar feeling. He’s scared, but here in his mother’s arms he wants to believe that whatever is going on can’t be bad. It  _ can’t _. _

_ “Maryse,” Robert chokes out, just barely heard over the thunder, and Maryse pulls back, wiping the tears off of her cheeks. Alec looks between his parents, wanting to say something but finding himself at loss for words.  _

_ “You have to be strong now, Alec, okay? Be brave and be strong, and you take care of your family. You  _ protect _ them.” Maryse presses a wet kiss to Alec’s cheek. Placing her lips to Alec’s ear, she whispers, “You’re a Lightwood, Alec. And no matter what happens, you will always be my son.” _

_ Her voice cracks on the last word and Alec feels impossibly hopeless and small in a world where everything seems to be out of his control. He wants to kick and fight and scream, and he doesn’t notice that he’s started crying until he feels the tears run down his cheeks.  _

_ Maryse pulls away all too quickly and grabs Robert’s hand, unable to look back at Alec. He feels his heart break as he watches them run to the car. He can see his mother in the passenger seat, hunched over with shaking shoulders. Alec makes an attempt to move forward, to try and stop this somehow, but there’s a hand on his shoulder. He doesn’t need to look behind him to know that it’s Hodge.  _

_ As the car pulls out of the driveaway, Alec starts sobbing, and his resolve cracks.  _

_ “Mom! Dad!”  _

_ Alec tries to wrestle away from the man holding him back, arms flailing, but it’s no use. The car has turned a corner and disappeared from view, and Alec continues to cry, even as he’s pulled into Hodge’s embrace. _

_ His parents are gone.  _

___

Alec rolls over in bed, burying his face in the pillow. His hand scrambles around on the bedside table to his left, trying to find his phone. He yanks it unceremoniously from the charger and holds it up to his face, squinting at the bright light of the phone screen. 

The little red bubble by the calls app tells him he has a new voicemail. He’d barely remembered to put his phone on charge when he got back to the house, let alone had time to check for messages, so he taps onto it now and opens the app. 

It’s a missed call from Hodge. Just reading the name feels like a sucker punch, and Alec breathes out shakily as his eyes take in the words.

Without thinking about it, he opens the voicemail.

“Alec,” Hodge says, voice tinny through the phone’s speaker. Alec lets out a strangled noise and hits the end call button immediately.

It’s too much, the sound of Hodge’s voice in his ear, so comforting and familiar. Maybe Hodge wasn’t his father, but his voice is something Alec has associated with family and home and being  _ safe  _ for over half his life, and hearing it so soon feels like pressing down on a gaping wound just to make it bleed. The loss he feels sends waves of pain shooting through his body and he curls up, letting the phone slip from his hand. He buries his face in the pillow, crying silently, not wanting to wake his siblings.

He doesn’t deserve their comfort, not when it was his fault that Hodge had died. Hodge, who had been out looking for Alec. Hodge, who had only been angry with him because he’d neglected his brother in favour of chasing for answers about their parents from someone who made his skin crawl.

Alec sobs, biting down on his fist to avoid crying aloud. He closes his eyes and tries to breathe, focussing on inhaling and exhaling. Eventually, exhaustion overtakes him and he passes out again, tossing and turning in a fitful sleep.

When he wakes again later that morning, his eyes are sore and his head is pounding. Momentarily, he doesn’t remember anything that happened, and then it all comes flooding back to him in a horrifying moment of realisation. His throat is dry and he sits up sluggishly, not ready to face the day.

He can hear someone in the kitchen below his room, clattering around. It’s got to be Jace - Izzy doesn’t end up waking half the city when she cooks, and Jace never misses a chance to make breakfast for his family when he can.

Something twists painfully in Alec’s chest when he realises it’s probably Jace’s way of acting like everything is fine. If he can make breakfast like normal, it means he’s not hurting, right?

Alec forces himself out of bed, the thought of Jace suffering their loss in silence feels like another stab in the heart. As the eldest, it’s Alec’s responsibility to take care of his siblings, like he’s always done, and though this isn’t something he can shield them from, he’s going to do everything he can to help soothe their pain in any way possible.

As he goes to leave his room he stumbles, almost tripping over the foot of the bed, before he registers that he’s in his childhood room, a relic of a time gone by. A time when Hodge was still there.

Alec pulls the door open, wishing his brain would shut up, and jogs downstairs. Izzy is curled on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. The TV’s on but she’s looking at it, unseeing, her eyes red and her hair a mess. Her gaze flickers to Alec when he enters the living room but she doesn’t say anything, just goes back to staring at the TV.

Alec squeezes her shoulder on the way past, hoping to offer her some small form of comfort. As he thought, when he gets to the kitchen, he finds Jace, rushing around with pots and pans flying everywhere. He greets Alec monotonously when he spots him, but he doesn’t stop what he’s doing until Alec places his hands on both Jace’s shoulders and forces him to look at him.

“You don’t need to do this,” Alec says, even though he understands why Jace is doing it. Jace looks lost, his eyes vacant, and he shakes his head at Alec.

“I always make breakfast,” he says, his voice cracking.

Alec’s heart shatters and he pulls his brother into a hug. At first, Jace is reluctant, rigid in Alec’s arms, but then the wooden spoon he’s holding clatters to the floor and he wraps his arms around Alec and cries. Alec just holds him, stroking his hair, comforting Jace like he has ever since they were just two kids, thrown together by circumstance, who became best friends.

He holds Jace for a few minutes before Jace pulls away and rubs at his eyes, taking deep breaths. He clasps Alec’s arm and sends him a small, watery smile.

Alec nods at him, then sets about making tea for them all while Jace walks to the table on shaky legs and sits down, grasping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turn white.

They wait for the water to boil in silence, and once Alec’s made the tea, Jace takes his with distracted thanks. He’s staring at his abandoned bowl of pancake mixture, but he doesn’t look like he’s on the verge of breaking down again, so Alec leaves him for a moment and carries the tea through for Izzy. 

She’s still wrapped in her blanket, though she’s turned the TV off now. He finds a coaster and puts the cup down on the table beside the couch. Izzy stirs a little at the movement, head lifting and her eyes rising to meet Alec’s.

“Alec,” she says, voice sounding rough from disuse. 

“Hey,” he says gently, brushing back a strand of her dark hair. She leans into his touch and he strokes her cheek tenderly. “I’m just gonna check on Max, then I’ll be back, okay?”

Izzy nods distantly and leans her head back on the couch cushions. Alec gets a tall glass of water for Max, then continues upstairs quietly, not wanting to wake his youngest brother if he’s still asleep. 

He knocks gently on Max’s door. “Max?” he calls softly. “Are you awake?”

Alec tries to block out the fact that he can hear Max’s muffled crying through the door because of his hyper senses, and waits until Max clears his throat and calls for him to come in before opening the door. 

“Hey, buddy,” Alec says. He can’t believe how different the situation is from just the morning before - Max had barely said a word to him and they were all at each other’s throats. Now they’re all broken apart, four shattered children holding each other together just by virtue of being close. “Here,” he adds, holding out the water.

Max sits up, rubbing at his eyes with his fists. It reminds Alec of when he used to go into Max’s room in the mornings before school, back when they still lived with their parents. The room would be dark and Max would be curled up in bed, an island in the ocean of cuddly toys and teddies surrounding him. He’d rub his eyes sleepily with chubby fists, and Alec would hug him, marvelling at how small his brother was.

His mom always reminded him that he’d been that tiny once, too, but he didn’t quite believe her.

Max takes the water wordlessly from him now, gulping about half of it down in one go. Alec doesn’t want to push him into talking and doesn’t want to bring up the fact that he’d been crying if Max isn’t ready to talk about it, but when Max looks at him, pained and lost, Alec can’t help but sweep his brother into a hug.

Max’s tears are wet on Alec’s T-shirt. Alec just mumbles soothing words to his brother, trying to help him calm down. 

“When I woke up I didn’t remember straight away,” Max says, breath trembling. “And then it hit me and -” he makes a choked noise and buries his face in Alec’s neck.

“I know, Max,” Alec says, squeezing his eyes shut so he doesn’t start crying himself. “The same thing happened to me.”

“It’s like a nightmare,” Max says into Alec’s t-shirt, “but when I woke up, it wasn’t over.”

Alec holds his brother and lets him cry it out, rubbing his back to try and comfort him.

The rest of the day passes slowly, all four Lightwoods existing but nothing more. Alec lethargically fixes lunch for them all, knowing they need to keep their energy up even if none of them feel like eating. The food tastes like ash in his mouth. 

The house seems unnaturally quiet - no one shouting at them to get their school bags and sports kits, no one thudding down the stairs, no bass from Izzy’s speakers as she works out to her music. They spend most of the day congregated in the living room, Izzy and Jace half-heartedly watching TV, and Alec dipping into a book before realising he’s just reading the same words over and over, none of the meaning going in. 

At one point he looks up to see Izzy has silent tears rolling down her cheeks, and he crosses the room to wrap her in a hug. The two of them don’t quite fit on the couch, at least, not like they did when they were little, two dark haired children huddled against the world, but Izzy burrows into his side anyway. 

Later on, when Max ventures out from his room, swamped in one of Alec’s old hoodies, Jace suggests ordering take out. For the first time since they heard the news, Alec catches a flicker of normality among his siblings - Max goes to grab one of the menus pinned on the board in the kitchen, and Izzy pulls her hair back into a ponytail with an air of readiness.

Alec’s eyes land on Jace, who seems stronger after the morning’s breakdown, and knows they’ll all be okay if he leaves them for the night. He can’t spend another night in this house of ghosts; he needs to get home and sleep in his own bed and not have to pretend like everything’s okay.

It takes him a good half an hour to say goodbye to his siblings, hugging each one of them tightly and making sure they know to call him if they need anything. With a hint of his usual snark, Jace reminds Alec that he is actually capable of functioning without his worry wart brother around, and then he drops the teasing and turns solemn.

“Hey, man,” he says, hugging Alec again, “don’t forget that  _ you  _ can call  _ us  _ if you need to. We’re here for you, too.”

Alec nods and pats him on the shoulder. When he leaves the brownstone, it’s dark out, and he pulls the collar of his jacket up against the chill of the spring night air. 

The journey back to his apartment doesn’t actually take too long, but it feels like an age. The whole weekend weighs down on Alec, and he can feel his knees buckling as he trudges up the stairs to the apartment. He’s been strong for his siblings all day, and he’s about ready to fall into bed and let sleep take him under.

Alec reaches the front door with unsteady steps. He can’t seem to get his body to work - he’s exhausted, emotionally and physically, and his fingers lethargically search for his keys in his pocket. He’s just managed to pull them out and is slowly unlocking his door, forehead dropped against it, when the sound of the door opposite opening crashes over him.

“Alexander!” 

Alec sucks in a breath, closing his eyes. 

“Hey, Magnus,” he says, aiming for some semblance of normality. His fingers still aren’t co operating and he struggles with unlocking the door, before a warm hand settles over his and takes over the task for him.

“You obviously had a wild night yesterday,” Magnus teases, his pleasant tone jarring against every emotion in Alec’s body, “if your hangover’s still this bad today.”

Alec peels his eyes open and lifts his head. “What?” he asks, unfocused. This close, Alec can see the exact cycle of Magnus’ expression through amusement to shock to concern.

“Alec?” Magnus asks, his other hand coming to rest lightly on Alec’s arm. “What’s happened?”

Alec swallows and shakes his head. “Rough couple of days,” he says, voice feeling like gravel in his throat. Belatedly, his eyes flit down to Magnus’ outfit and he pushes for an imitation of their usual interaction. “Where are you off to? Don’t be late on my account.”

“Checking in on Ragnor,” Magnus says distractedly, eyes sweeping worriedly Alec’s face. “I’m here for you, Alexander,” he adds gently, “if you want to talk. You don’t have to push me away.”

Alec nods tiredly. His whole body is screaming for him to go to bed and pass out for the next ten years.

“Yeah, I -” he stops and shakes his head. “Not right now.”

Magnus looks at him for a long moment, pensive and caring. “Okay,” he agrees, opening Alec’s door for him. “Just let me know.”

Alec nods again and manages half a smile. “S’later, Magnus.”

___

The following week passes by in a numb blur. Alec goes through the motions, forcing himself to go to class, though he just sits at the back and curls in on himself, hoodie pulled up over his head. Jace comes back to their apartment on Wednesday morning, letting Alec know that while Izzy isn’t ready to face work yet, she felt like she could look after both herself and Max on their own now.

They don’t talk much, both of them keeping to their own space. Just as Alec’s finding it a little easier, he gets a call asking him to head out to the funeral parlour to sort out the arrangements for Hodge. He’s struggling for breath by the end of the phone call and rushes past Jace and his inquisitive gaze to shut himself in his bedroom, burying his face in his arms and tugging at his hair until it hurts.

He’s only really present for flashes of the week - making it as far as the entrance door to his Family Law tutorial, seeing everyone in his class joking and laughing, and physically not being able to make himself grip the handle to go in. Searching robotically through his closet for a black suit and tie. His lungs contracting as he pushes himself too hard on the treadmill. 

Lately, it feels like rage and exhaustion are the only things he's capable of feeling.

The next thing Alec registers is staring at a tombstone reading  _ Hodge Starkweather  _ among a sea of people dressed in black. He wraps his arm around his sister, pulling her into his side, and she buries her face in his chest. He rests his cheek against her head, tasting the salt of his own tears.

Eventually, Izzy unwraps herself from Alec and bundles Max into a hug, leading him away from the grave. Jace shares a glance at Alec, reading him in that way he’s always been able to, and nods at him. He follows after Izzy and Max, leaving Alec alone at Hodge’s grave.

He doesn’t know how long he stands there, feeling more heaviness and grief than he’s ever felt. At some point, a warm, ringed hand slips into his own.

“You didn’t have to come,” Alec says hoarsely, even as he’s leaning into Magnus’ side, letting the infinite comfort he brings give him momentary respite from his sadness.

Magnus squeezes his hand. “You know I did,” he replies quietly. 

Overwhelmed by emotion, both at his loss and Magnus’ gentle care, Alec’s eyes burn with tears and he swallows hard. He draws in a ragged breath and moves closer to Magnus, tucking his face in the crook of Magnus’ neck. Magnus’ arms come up around him, holding him tightly.

As Alec sobs, Magnus mumbles soothingly, more noise than actual words. One of his hands strokes Alec’s hair, the other holds Alec close against him. Alec just lets himself cry, everything he’s pent up over the last week spilling out of him. He grips the back of Magnus’ suit jacket tightly, his only anchor in a sea of emotions threatening to drown him.

It’s a long time since he’s cried like this, ugly, full body sobs that get wrenched out of him and steal his breath. He ends up hiccuping a couple of times and Magnus hushes him, still stroking his hair. Alec just clutches him tighter.

After a while, he finds it easier to breath and his head feels clearer. His eyes are still damp, but he burrows closer into Magnus’ neck and just breathes him in for a moment, at peace for the first time in days. He feels calm, empty of everything that’s been weighing down on him. 

Now that he’s more aware, he realises he’s been sobbing into Magnus’ expensive looking jacket for the past God knows how long. Self-consciousness trickles over him - he’s not embarrassed, exactly, because he knows Magnus wouldn’t ever judge him, but it’s a little mortifying to realise you’ve been crying, snot and all, on the person you have a massive crush on.

Alec peels himself away from Magnus reluctantly, taking a couple of deep breaths. He presses the heels of his palms into his eyes and rolls his shoulders back. 

“God,” he mumbles. “Sorry.”

Predictably, Magnus waves him away immediately. “How are you feeling?”

Alec nods, then sniffs. He licks his lips. “Better,” he says truthfully. “Really,” he adds, sending Magnus a small, grateful smile. “I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

Magnus smiles at him and briefly cups his cheek with one hand before his eyes go a little wide and he drops his hand, leaving it to swing loosely at his side. “Jace said he was taking your brother and sister home, so he asked if I’d give you a ride back. Just let me know when you want to go,” he says.

Alec nods again, scrubbing a hand over his face. He doesn’t even want to know what he looks like right now.  “Okay.”

He turns back to Hodge’s grave and exhales slowly, shakily, but the hole in his chest doesn’t feel as ragged now. 

“I - yeah. Can we go?” he asks.

Magnus gestures openly towards the exit of the cemetery, and before Alec can even register what he’s doing, he catches Magnus’ hand in mid air and holds it. Magnus blinks at him, surprised, but before Alec can change his mind and pull his hand back, Magnus laces their fingers together and pulls Alec closer.

The walk back through the cemetery feels far less lonely than it had on the way out, Magnus’ presence at Alec’s side a warm reminder of the fact that there are still things to live for - there are still good people in the world. Just because Hodge dying had stopped the Lightwoods’ world, didn’t mean it wouldn’t restart again.

“Magnus,” Alec starts, “I - thank you. I know you said you don’t mind being here, but I really appreciate it. Practically everything in my life is falling apart right now and it feels like you’re the one person who’s holding me together.”

Alec didn’t quite mean to bear his heart on his sleeve like that, but now he’s said it, he finds he doesn’t want to take it back. Maybe it wasn’t planned, but it’s the truth.

Magnus looks at him, touched. He swallows, then sends Alec a soft smile. “We all need someone to keep us going sometimes,” he says, squeezing Alec’s hand.

Alec smiles at him, feeling lighter than he has in days, like maybe he doesn’t have to take on the burden of the world on his own. The two of them leave the cemetery hand in hand, and Alec doesn’t look back.

___

Alec takes a sip of coffee, staring down at the picture in his hands. He doesn’t know why he’s doing it - he could barely listen to the sound of Hodge’s voice in the voicemail, and now he’s staring at his face in this beaten up photograph. His eyes swipe over the people in it. 

He’s just so tired of feeling like he’s in the dark. 

Everything in his life, from the moment his parents left, to Hodge’s secrecy, to his unknown connection to Idris Corp, feels like it’s a giant puzzle, and Alec needs to start putting the pieces together. He sets down his now empty mug and goes to the closet to shrug on his jacket and a pair of shoes. 

He needs answers, and he knows just where to start looking for them. 

Alec doesn’t realize until he ties the laces of his sneakers that his hands are shaking. He wants his body to be over the grief and the pain from a few days ago, but the logical part of his mind is telling him that he needs time to move on. 

Time isn’t something he can indulge in right now. 

Alec snatches the photograph off of the counter and grabs his wallet, keys and phone. He tries to file all the information he has about Valentine and his parent’s past in his mind, but it only makes his anxiety worsen. 

_ Come on, Lightwood, shake it off.  _

Outside of his apartment, Alec is fidgety and on edge as he locks the door. He’s just about to do some sort of breathing exercises when his eyes land on Magnus’ apartment door. 

He knows he shouldn’t ask for help, knows that getting Magnus into this mess might be a bad idea, but Magnus is the only person right now that he feels grounded around. The only person who makes him feel like he’s not going to fall apart. 

Alec knocks quickly before he can change his mind, shuffling side to side on his feet. 

“Alexander,” Magnus greets, when he opens the door. He’s dressed in a loose fitted pastel pink shirt and some sweatpants. Seeing as it’s Sunday, Alec is certain Magnus’ plans included reading a fiction novel and probably baking. He doesn’t know what to make of the fact that he knows this about Magnus.

“Do you - do you think you could join me? In going somewhere?” Alec asks uneasily. Magnus looks confused for a moment, leaning casually on the doorframe. 

“Go where?” Magnus asks. 

“Um, to see Valentine? I just need  _ answers _ . I’m - I need to pick his brain,” Alec says, scratching the back of his neck. “And you - I want someone there that I can trust.”

“Well, I guess that means I won’t be able to try the new brownie recipe I found on Google,” Magnus sighs teasingly. Alec cracks a smile, appreciating how Magnus seems to make him feel better even in the worst of times. “Of course I’ll come.”

“Thank you,” Alec breathes out. “I feel like that’s all I say to you these days.”

“Hush, darling, it’s no problem at all. Let me just go get changed and I’ll be good to go. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen,” Magnus says, walking towards his bedroom. 

Alec settles on making himself a cup of tea and drinking it slowly to calm his nerves a little. Maybe the caffeine from the coffee this morning wasn’t a good idea. 

“Ready?” Magnus asks, walking into the kitchen and fixing his collar. When Alec thinks Magnus isn’t looking, he sweeps his eyes over Magnus’ body appreciatively. Magnus did always have exquisite style. Right now, between Magnus and Valentine, it’s the only thing distracting Alec from drowning in his own sorrows. 

“Yeah,” Alec says, quickly rinsing out the cup he’d just used and walking out of the apartment with Magnus.

They arrive to a modern and sleek house in Queens, and Alec isn’t surprised that Valentine could afford just a nice place - he is a self made millionaire. 

“You sure about this, Alec?” Magnus asks from beside him. Alec takes a deep breath.

“He’s the closest connection I have to my parents. I can’t let their secrets be left in the dark, not when they affected me and my siblings so much.” 

Magnus grabs Alec’s hand gently and squeezes before letting go. 

“Well then, let’s go.” 

They climb up the stairs and knock once, waiting patiently. It only takes a few seconds for Valentine to swing the door open and look between the two of them. 

“Oh, Alec, I am so sorry,” he says, pulling Alec into an unexpected and tight hug. “I heard about Hodge. I cannot believe to imagine the pain you’re in, my boy.” 

“Uh, yeah,” Alec says awkwardly, patting Valentine’s side as the other man pulls away. Valentine turns to Magnus then, keeping one hand on Alec’s shoulder.

“Magnus! What a surprise. And what are you doing here?” Valentine smiles at Magnus that makes him both look genuine and a little insane. Alec can’t tell if he’s putting up an act, or is this is the real Valentine, but it doesn’t matter now. He’s a link to the past Alec’s never known. 

“Just here to support Alec,” Magnus says politely, a small smile on his face to please his boss. 

“Support? What for?” Valentine asks, his eyes wide and confused. 

“I need to ask you more questions about my parents, and about your connection to Hodge.” Alec says, his voice sounding a lot more confident than he feels. 

“Yes, of course, come in,” Valentine says, moving so that Magnus and Alec can walk into his house. “I’m afraid everything’s been so busy I haven’t had the time to properly mourn the loss of an old friend.” 

Valentine waltzes further into the house, a silent invitation that Alec and Magnus should follow. 

They make their way through the house, both of them taking a minute to admire the decor. Everything is a shade of silver, and yet it all feels so luxurious. They all end up in the kitchen as Valentine takes out three mugs and pours Magnus and Alec some tea. 

“I’m sorry,” Alec says when Valentine hands him the mug of tea. He and Magnus sat down on the tall stools of the island, and Alec looks down at his mug for a moment before meeting Valentine’s eyes. “I know he was your friend, too. I didn’t mean to be insensitive.” 

“Nonsense,” Valentine says with a wave of his hand. “I’m afraid the news has been hard to process, but that’s what happens I suppose. In this rollercoaster called life, people die.

“It’s a shame, really. Hodge was always so bright and loyal. A good man,” Valentine says, looking somewhere behind Alec’s head as he takes a sip of his tea. 

Alec fidgets a little, because it still isn’t easy to talk about Hodge so openly. He feels Magnus’ hand on his knee and he looks at Magnus with a tiny smile, reassuring him that he’s okay. 

“Hodge was so passionate about his work. God, when I knew him all he wanted to do was change the world for the better.”

“He didn’t talk much about his past work with me,” Alec says, still unable to really look at Valentine in fear of the waterworks starting. 

“Strange. He was such a visionary when I knew him,” Valentine muses, humming for a moment. “He always thought about the future and what we can do different to create a better life for the generations ahead.”

Alec looks up at him before looking back at Magnus. Magnus has his head tilted to the side, seemingly thinking about Valentine’s words. 

“Would either of you like a donut? I got some delicious ones the other day at the bakery down the street!” Valentine says suddenly, walking to the other countertop. 

“No, thank you,” Alec says, as Magnus declines one as well. “Valentine, what exactly were you and Hodge researching? He was extremely closed off when I asked him about it.”

Valentine turns, looking a little impatient. 

“Hodge and I were researching what is essentially the foundation for my entire company. We wanted a stronger future, Alec. We thought we could be better and do more.”

Turning over the glazed donut in his hand, Valentine set it back down on the pile. 

“It’s a project I never managed to complete, I’m afraid. Not alone. What Magnus studies in genetic isn’t even one percent of what Hodge and my former team looked into. Excuse me a moment,” Valentine says, leaving his mug of tea and walking down the hallway. 

“You’re okay?” Magnus asked in a hushed whisper, and Alec turns to him nodding once. 

“Yeah, I’m just trying to make sense of the science part of it all,” Alec admits honestly. 

“Idris Corp is well known for its development in science research, and genetic mutation is just a field - a really exciting one, in fact, because all other companies who have ever even attempted it have failed,” Magnus says, chewing on his lower lip. “I just wasn’t aware that the entire facility was built on this idea.”

Valentine returns with a large box and sets it on the counter, shuffling through it. Alec tilts his head an inch, noticing a familiar large symbol on the side of the box that looks very similar to the one on his father’s old folder.

“For years, my research team and I were mocked for our failures, being called mad scientists for thinking such a thing was possible. Then it all went downhill, and as the group disbanded, the research became utterly useless. Ah, here,” Valentine says, pulling out a stack of three composition notebooks and flipping them open. 

“Oh my god,” Magnus says under his breathe as Valentine presented the research. It’s all gibberish to Alec, but he can see Magnus’ eyes sweeping over the pages and sense the gears turning in his head. 

“All my life’s work fell to pieces. It was quite extraordinary at the time. Then I founded Idris Corp. I knew I had to build something and find another way and yet -”

“What if this works?” Magnus says suddenly, looking up at Valentine. 

“Pardon?”

“How much of the foreign species take over? What could the side effects be? Hypothetically, of course,” Magnus asks, standing up now. 

“It’s hard to say, I’m afraid, since no test subjects survived,” Valentine responds, his gaze intense. Alec just looks between them, trying to understand. 

“The Decay Rate Algorithm was the problem, wasn’t it?” Magnus narrows his eyes, looking back down at the notebooks. 

“Yes, but I -”

“I wish you had given the research team more information, Mr Morgenstern,” Magnus says, looking back up at him. “Do you have a piece of paper, by chance?” 

“Of course,” Valentine says, going to the living room and fetching a piece of scrap paper and a pencil. 

Magnus takes them from him and begins to write something, glancing from the notebooks to the paper and back again. It only takes a moment of pencil scratches for Magnus to offer up the paper to Valentine. 

Valentine looks the paper over once, twice, and then a third time, his eyes widening each time. 

“My god, Magnus. I think you’ve done it.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing highlights of ch4:  
> 
> 
>   * “val is a fancy bitch” - smelle
>   * “I feel like this chapter is gonna be short!!!!” - the famous last words of charlyle
>   * "jace had a supply of spandex in his room bc he's that kind of guy" - wtf @ charl
>   * "put a tw for an attempt at humor" - elle
> 

> 
> s/o to [ceci](http://daddariossmile.tumblr.com) for beta'ing!!!
> 
> just a heads up for everyone that this chapter was written (and the fic was planned) before the dom sherwood drama. this chapter has a lot of alec and jace bonding and spidey!verse jace is bi. pls stay safe n we love u all <3

“Alec Lightwood?” a man’s voice calls. Alec looks up and sees a tall, handsome man standing in the doorway to the reception area. He’s wearing a smart suit with a crisp white shirt, and he smiles when Alec looks over at him. “I’m Captain Luke Garroway. Follow me.”

Alec nods and picks up his bag, hoisting it over his shoulder as he follows behind Captain Garroway. He turns to speak to Alec over his shoulder as he leads him through the police precinct.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr Lightwood,” he says, “though I offer my condolences for the circumstances. We’re just through here, on the left.”

“Thanks,” Alec says. “And, uh, you can call me Alec.”

Captain Garroway nods and leads him into an office that seems pretty isolated from the chaos of the busy, noisy bullpen. The Captain gestures for Alec to take a seat, and, while Alec does so, he pulls the blinds shut for some privacy, then holds his hand up to indicate the other officer in the room.

“This is Detective Raphael Santiago,” Garroway says, lips twitching at Detective Santiago’s inscrutable expression before he takes a seat behind his desk.

Alec looks at Detective Santiago questioningly. “Raphael Santiago? Do you know Magnus Bane?” Alec asks, knowing that Magnus’ friend Raphael is a detective with the NYPD.

Santiago raises his eyebrows briefly, then his face returns to its original, displeased expression. “I do,” he affirms, folding his arms over his chest. He’s clearly someone used to intimidating people, and quite frankly, it’s working. “How do you know him?”

“He’s my neighbor,” Alec says, smiling involuntarily at the thought.

“Magnus is a good friend of ours,” Captain Garroway says, as he takes a seat opposite Alec, an easy smile on his face. Alec realises this must be the Luke that Magnus has mentioned on occasion. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the _Alexander_ he’s so fond of.”

Alec flushes softly despite himself, suddenly feeling a lot more at ease, even though they’re here to discuss Hodge and everything that happened. He’s suddenly hit with a need to get on Garroway’s good side, not only because he and Santiago know Magnus, but because Alec could really use more information on Hodge’s killer to file away.

Captain Garroway’s smile fades and he clears his throat.

“Well, Alec, thank you for coming in at such short notice. We really appreciate your cooperation, and we’re very sorry for your loss.”

Alec nods. He can feel his walls going up, ready to pretend he’s okay with hearing about Hodge when he clearly isn’t. “You said on the phone that you’ve taken over the case of Hodge’s - yeah.”

The call had come a few days ago - Captain Garroway rang Alec and asked if he’d be able to come down to the station to go over a few details. At first, Alec had been inclined to tell his siblings, but after contemplating it, he realized he didn’t want to burden them.

The past week hadn’t been easy. Alec wanted to appear strong in front of Jace, Izzy, and Max, and somehow found himself alone most days. If it wasn’t for Magnus coming over just to keep him company, even in silence, Alec doesn’t think he’d be holding himself together so well. Magnus has been amazing, and patient, and is a far greater friend than Alec ever deserved.

With Hodge gone, Alec knows that his siblings are going to look to him for guidance, and it’s the most terrifying thing in the world, disappointing those you love.

When Captain Garroway had told him that he also had a lead suspect in the case, something angry and vengeful boiled in the pit of Alec’s stomach.

“Yes,” Garroway says, sharing a momentary glance with Santiago. He rummages through one of the piles on his desk, and when he finds what he’s looking for, he meets Alec’s eyes, studying him for a moment. Alec looks right back, hoping he’s passing whatever test the Captain is putting him through in his mind. “This file,” Garroway says, “is on a man called Samuel Blackwell. He’s been on our radar for a while - we’re familiar with the sort of group he’s in, and we’ve seen this style of operation in the past.”

Garroway opens the folder and slides it towards Alec, who sits forward on his chair and peers at the file. The witness sketch of Blackwell stares up at him, and Alec is unable to look away. His mind keeps flashing from the present back to Hodge and the brief eye contact he made with the killer, and Alec knows without a doubt, that the man in the sketch was responsible for Hodge’s murder.

“We don’t think that your guardian is the first person he killed,” Garroway continues. “This is a composite sketch from multiple eyewitnesses across a number of crimes - you mentioned in your statement that you got a look at the shooter’s face before he fled. What do you think?”

“Yeah, it’s him,” Alec breathes out, after what feels like an eternity.

The Captain nods, looking at Santiago for a moment before placing his elbows on the desk and lacing his fingers together.

“Alec, I promise you, we will do everything we can to take him down,” Garroway says, his voice softer now.

Alec still hasn’t managed to look away from the sketch as he chews on his bottom lip. He knows that the two officers will try. But this is his life, and his family was killed by a man without a clear motive, and Alec doesn’t know if any of his other family is in danger.

It couldn’t have been a random attack. Samuel Blackwell didn’t bring that gun to Brooklyn and put a bullet in Hodge’s torso by accident, especially if his other crimes are anything to go by. Alec may not be an officer, but he knows that he would die before letting anyone else put a hand on his family.

“I hope so,” Alec replies, finally looking up at Garroway.

Studying him for a moment, Alec narrows his eyes, and Garroway looks a little taken aback.

“Are you okay, Alec?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Alec replies, but his mind is screaming at him that he’s seen this man’s face somewhere, and it wasn’t in Magnus’ tagged photos on Facebook.

Alec clears his throat, looking back down at the composite sketch, and listing off identifying traits: a mole on his left temple, a scar on his lip, and the same red, circular tattoo Alec that remembers.

Closing the folder, Alec hands it back to Garroway and tries to smile.

“Thank you, Captain Garroway,” Alec says.

“It’s what we do,” Garroway answers with a nod, his voice warm and reassuring. “We’ll keep in touch, Alec.”

“Yes, of course,” Alec says, standing up at the same time as Garroway and shaking both his and Santiago’s hand. Santiago hasn’t said much during this meeting, but Alec can definitely see the dynamic between them: while Garroway is better at charming people, Santiago is definitely the silent one who gathers information.

“Have a good day, Alec. And if you remember anything relevant to our investigation, please -”

“I’ll give you a call.” Alec rubs his fingers together for a moment, and with a final nod, he walks out of the office.

___

Everything changes the next day. Alec refuses to hang around and wait for someone else to do his dirty work. He’s not going to sit and look pretty while Captain Garroway and Detective Santiago do what is within the law to try and catch Blackwell.

Alec has been doing that his entire life - but not today. He knows the law, and knows he’ll have to break it to get the revenge he needs.

He gets out of bed with purpose that morning, shuffling through his closet for something average looking - something that can’t be traced back to him. He finds his plain blue hoodie he used to wear in high school. It’s a little beaten up, but it’ll have to do. He also finds a pair of old jeans. They’re worn down enough that Alec could probably be flexible in them. He’ll need that if he decides to make a quick escape.

That leaves the most important part, however, completely open, and that’s his face. Chewing on his lip, Alec goes into Jace’s room, and looks behind his shoes to find his box full of ski gear. They haven’t been skiing in a long time, and Alec doubts Jace will reach for this box, since the person who first taught him how to ski was Hodge.

After a moment of digging, Alec finds the ski mask he was looking for.

Red and blue aren’t exactly the color combo he was aiming for, but it’ll have to do.

He grabs Jace’s ski goggles for good measure and goes back to his room. He puts his whole outfit together and looks in the mirror. Alec would laugh if he wasn’t about to go and do some seriously dangerous shit.

He looks like a weird clown. Alec is limited on resources, though, and if he starts hunting for Blackwell he needed to be untraceable.

Alec shoots a web to the wall of his room, pulling himself towards it and landing softly onto it, his back arching and toes and fingers holding onto the wall. It’s weird how almost normal it feels to be doing this. He scurries on the wall until he hits the corner of his room and he slowly attaches a web to the ceiling and slides on it upside down.

Well, this is new.

His feet easily find the web and he hangs perfectly still.

Alec spends the rest of the day practicing and testing out his skills in his room. He tests web strength, his new flexibility, his stamina, all through little at home tests. When the spring sun starts setting outside, Alec stuffs his new clothes in an old backpack, walking out of his room.

“Hey, there you are,” Jace says softly, turning off the stove. It’s the first time Alec has seen him cook since his failed attempt at making breakfast the morning after - everything. “I made some meatloaf. I was gonna take it over to Izzy and Max, maybe spend a few hours there. You wanna come?”

“No thanks,” Alec says almost instantly, his mind elsewhere as he tries to come up with different locations he can check out to find Samuel Blackwell. The name rings in his head on repeat like a reminder of his mission tonight.

“Okay,” Jace says, frowning. “School stuff?”

“Yeah,” Alec says, silently grateful for the excuse Jace basically made up for him.

“Good luck,” Jace replies, wiping his hands on the dish towel. “Don’t work yourself too hard, okay?”

“Okay,” Alec says, walking out the door and running down the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Alec makes his way down a block and to a familiar closed off alleyway that he passes when he comes home from the subway. He does a quick change behind a dumpster, suddenly thinking how less than glamorous this is, before slinging the backpack over his shoulders and beginning to climb the brick wall.

When he makes it to the top, Alec perches himself onto the edge of the building in a squat, looking over the city. He lowers the goggles onto his face and squints, rethinking his plan.

He takes a few deep breaths, calming himself. He can do this. Alec closes his eyes, just for a moment, and Hodge’s lifeless body flashes in his mind, reminding him exactly why he’s doing this

Alec gets up swiftly, shooting a web and swinging into the distance and towards his destination.

He beats up four guys that night. Three are completely unrelated to his original mission, but when he sees two guys robbing a deli, he has to step in and break it up. It even gets a little physical, and Alec takes one or two nasty hits to the ribs, but those will heal. The other guy is harassing a cab driver, and Alec doesn’t like how physically aggressive the man is getting, so he steps in and shows the man exactly what’ll happen if you threaten to kill someone.

Alec uses that man’s tie to tie him to a nearby bus stop pole, then calls the police through his phone.

The last man is someone who lives in Williamsburg and fits the description almost perfectly for the witness sketch of Samuel Blackwell. Alec ends up following him a few blocks, swinging from building to building to remain unseen, and then the man goes down a quieter street, Alec swoops in and roughs him up, before slamming him against the wall and turning his face to the side, trying to check if that bright red circle tattoo is there.

When he finds none, Alec disappears into the shadows, disappointment looming over him.

Back in his room, Alec removes the ski mask, his body feeling heavy and worn from so much muscle strain. He flops on the bed, closing his eyes momentarily. All he needs to identify the killer is the circular tattoo on his neck and Alec’s own memory of him. Even though today was more or less of a bust, Alec knows that it’s too soon for him to give up. He’ll avenge Hodge’s death the way he wasn’t able to avenge his parents’.

This is far from over.

___

Even though it’s only been just over two weeks since Alec set foot in Hodge’s house, it feels like it’s been an age. When he walks gingerly through the front door, the house is quiet, the atmosphere still - like the house of a dead man, he supposes.

It’s not quite true. There are signs of life dotted around - a shopping list in Izzy’s messy scrawl that’s half finished on the counter top; Max’s football boots and knee pads strewn in the middle of the living room floor, now that there’s no one to tell him to pick them up and stop leaving his mess everywhere. The blanket Izzy had wrapped herself in is folded neatly over the back of the couch, and the photos - oh, the photos.

Alec’s never quite appreciated them before in the way he does now. It had always given him a strange kind of shameful, vindictive pleasure that Hodge had pictures of the Lightwood kids everywhere in the house, but none of him with them. To Alec, it was a necessary reminder that Hodge wasn’t and would never be his father, but now it feels like he’s been stabbed in the heart.

Hodge sacrificed everything for them - four kids, one just a baby, dropped on him out of nowhere. He gave up the life he had and did everything he could to make his house their home; clothed them, fed them, _loved them_. Alec feels a different kind of grief now, losing Hodge, than he had when his parents had left him here, but it’s still one that’s sharp and sends keen jolts of pain through his body when he’s not expecting it.

It’s dumb little things, like when Jace is on the phone and Alec expects to hear him hang up saying, “Bye, Hodge,” but he never does. It’s knowing that Hodge’s birthday is coming up, and that they don’t need to get him anything this year. Little reminders that make Alec wonder if he’ll ever get over it, or whether it’ll keep coming back to him, the way he’d lost another parent. One who’d died in his arms.

Magnus has been his saving grace in all of this. He’d offered Izzy extended bereavement leave from her internship, but she’d declined, wanting to try and get back to some semblance of normality. Knowing someone else is looking out for his siblings - and, indeed, the fact that Magnus can keep an eye on Izzy at work, somewhere Alec can’t follow - is a huge relief, one he doesn’t know how he’s ever going to be able to thank Magnus for.

He’s also been cooking for them, him and Jace, bringing round one pot dishes and easy meals to dump in the slow cooker so they don’t have to think about making dinner in the evenings.

Knowing that someone will be there to catch him if he falls is infinitely healing. He has no doubt his siblings would take the weight if he asked them to, but he doesn’t want to place that burden on them. That Magnus takes up the mantle without being asked, just because he cares, only makes Alec’s admiration for him grow.

Alec takes the stairs one at a time, hand trailing up the wall as he moves. He’s there to pick up Jace’s forgotten car keys, but when he looks at Hodge’s bedroom door, his heart stops. Something draws him towards it, desperately searching for some kind of closure. Even as he pushes the door open, he pauses, feeling like he’s invading Hodge’s privacy.

He’s never really been in Hodge’s room all that much. When they first started living with Hodge, if Jace or Izzy had a nightmare, they would come to Alec, creeping across the landing to his room and crawling under the covers. They were wary of Hodge, at first - they all were, with the exception of Max - and Jace and Izzy thought that if they bothered him too much or pushed him too far, he’d go and never come back, just like their parents had.

After a few months, though, they’d gotten used to living with him. It wasn’t the same as living with Maryse and Robert - nothing ever would be - but Izzy and Jace were comfortable enough that they knew they could go to Hodge if they woke up from a bad dream or needed some reassurance. At 11, Alec had deemed himself too old to be allowed that kind of comfort from someone he barely knew, and so he’d only ever been into Hodge’s room on certain occasions, like Christmas morning.

The tidiness is the first thing that hits Alec. The bed is neatly made, the comforter smoothly spread across the bottom and the cushions placed in perfect symmetry. On the dresser, the range of aftershaves and moisturisers Hodge always used sit in a line, and the mirror is clean from smears or smudges. The alarm clock ticks on the bedside table, the only sound in the otherwise silent room.

Alec steps forward, breaching the threshold, and closes the door behind himself. He moves further into the room, looking around, not quite sure where to begin. He’s not even really sure what he’s looking _for_ \- just something tangible to prove his connection to Hodge.

Carefully, not wanting to disturb anything on the basis of some absurd notion that Hodge might, at some point, be coming back to this room, Alec lifts the corner of the bedspread so he can get to the storage underneath the bed. There are three neatly packed boxes slid under it, one filled with spare duvets in vacuum bags and one with pillowcases and duvet covers.

The third, Alec notices, pushed to the back of the others, is filled with trinkets and old books, photos and little mementos.

He pulls it out with care, opening the lid with trembling fingers. He gently sifts through the items, feeling nostalgia and sadness hit him in equal parts. The first thing he comes across is a tattered brown notepad, the label on the front proudly declaring: Isabelle Lightwood, Fifth grade, Science.

Alec flicks through it with an affectionate smile. Izzy’s childish writing leaps up at him, but her enthusiasm for the subject shines through, with beautifully coloured, detailed drawings and diagrams and pages and pages of writing about her final science project. Alec remembers helping her make it, sticking paper mache on balloons to represent the solar system, and then having a paint fight when it came to decorating them.

They’d both stopped, solemn and guilty, when Hodge entered the kitchen and found everything - including them - splattered with paint, but to their surprise, he’d just grabbed a paint bottle and joined the fight, laughing and telling them that he could beat them any day of the week.

Beside Izzy’s school book is a heavy photo album, and when Alec opens it, his own face stares up at him. He’s maybe four years old, both his front teeth missing, and he’s grinning at the camera like he hasn’t got a care in the world.

A lump in his throat, Alec looks through the pictures - school photos of him and his siblings, picnics, birthdays, countless family memories. Finally, he hits one that has Hodge in it - it must have only been about a year or so after they’d been living with Hodge, because Max still looks more like a toddler than a child. He’s sitting on Hodge’s shoulders, with Alec, Jace and Izzy arranged in height order in front of them, their arms around each other. Under that, there’s another - the five of them at Alec’s high school graduation ceremony, all smiling at the camera apart from Hodge, whose eyes are on Alec, shining with love.

It’s too much. Alec quickly closes the album, wiping away his tears before they can fall. He returns the album to the keepsakes box, wondering what other forgotten gems he’s going to find. There’s Jace’s first named baseball shirt, one he’d long grown out of, and several handmade father’s day cards in varying degrees of elaborateness from Max and Izzy.

Alec laughs wetly when he finds his medal of participation for the talent show he’d been forced into in ninth grade. In truth, he’d only done it because the boy in his maths class who he had a crush on was performing, but in the end, Alec had kind of enjoyed himself. He knew he wasn’t very good at singing, but Hodge had been proud of him anyway.

At the bottom of the box is a battered comic book, the front page creased at the spine with how many times it’s been read. Alec clutches the worn out comic book in his hands, his eyes sweeping over Captain America’s stance on the cover. Judging by the date, Alec guesses this is the first comic book Max ever had. He’d shrieked with excitement when he got home from school and found it waiting for him on the kitchen table, and he hadn’t stopped going on and on about how Captain America helped people, how he just wanted to stop the bullies - how he was a hero. Hodge just leant against the counter with a mug of tea, smiling affectionately at the scene.

Alec doesn’t know how long Hodge has been compiling this box of keepsakes, but given that Max has been in his ‘comic books aren’t cool’ stage for at least a year and a half, he’s obviously been setting aside little fragments of their lives together for some time.

Staring down at the star on Cap’s shield, Alec pushes away all his anger and grief, focussing on the single most ridiculous idea he’s ever had. He can hear Hodge's voice, clear as day:

“With great power, comes great responsibility.”

___

_Hodge is thrown out of the car onto a dirty cement floor. The bag over his head is taken off carelessly and he’s hustled to his feet by two large men lifting him up._

_“It’s been a while, Hodge,” Valentine says from his desk, sipping tea from his usual tiny cup. Hodge has spent his entire career wanting to smash that stupid fucking cup over Valentine’s head._

_“Has it? I hadn’t noticed,” Hodge spat, rubbing a hand over his face._

_“I haven’t heard back about the Lightwood kids in over a month, Starkweather,” Valentine says angrily, his voice booming throughout the giant garage. “That wasn’t our agreement now, was it?”_

_“I don’t give a fuck what our agreement was,” Hodge says, his whole body practically shaking with rage and fear. He could die here tonight for this fight with Valentine, but he’d rather take a risk now than live his whole life waiting for the day Valentine swooped in and took the Lightwoods away from him. They’re his family now. They’re all he’s_ got.

_“I don’t appreciate your tone,” Valentine replies, though the lightness to his voice is back. The dude is a fucking psychopath, Hodge thinks. “Now, how are Izzy, Alec, and little Max?”_

_“They’re fine, you insane fuck,” Hodge replies, narrowing his eyes and taking a step forward. The buff men from behind him step forward as well, but Valentine holds up a hand to stop them._

_“Leave us,” Valentine says with finality, his eyes never leaving Hodge’s. Valentine may only have a few years on Hodge, but he’s a terrifying man, with hands in multiple companies all around the world - most of them questionable._

_“This agreement is done. We’re finished here,” Hodge says, his hands starting to sweat as he forces himself to hold his composure._

_“It’s finished, my dear Hodge, when I say it’s finished,” Valentine says smoothly, walking closer to him._

_“No!” Hodge yells, his nerves on edge. “This ends now. Don’t you see how you’ve ruined their lives, Valentine? They’re fucking_ kids. _I can’t_ do _this anymore.”_

_“What’s been stopping you for the past few years, hm?” Valentine asks, getting in Hodge’s face with a dark fury. “Don’t pretend to be a saint, Hodge Starkweather. You’ve seen what I can do and you’ve stood by it. You’re just as bad as me.”_

_“I’m nothing like you,” Hodge fights back, though his voice breaks. He doesn’t_ want _to be Valentine. He knows how men like Valentine will end up - dead and alone. He doesn’t want that for himself._

_But Valentine is right. How much better is he if he sat around and watched Valentine experiment on people? He’s seen what the science can do. He knows Valentine murdered Maryse and Robert and he did nothing to stop him._

_Does that make Hodge just as bad? Or maybe even worse?_

_“Fuck you,” Hodge spits out, practically sneering at Valentine. All he can think about is Izzy’s smile, Alec’s bright eyes, Max’s laugh, and Jace’s hugs. It’s the only thing keeping him going right now._

_“I’ll find you,” Valentine threatens. “I’ll find you and take away everything you ever love.”_

_“I dare you to try.” Hodge shouts, unable to hold back._

_Valentine gets really close to him then, and for a second, Hodge thinks of the worst case scenario. Maybe Valentine will kill him right then and there. Torture him? Hodge has no one to call. It’s him and the kids._

_“Take him out of my sight,” Valentine says sharply, his lip curling, and the two huge men from before reappear. They put a dark sack over Hodge’s head, hitting him roughly on the head until all he sees is black._

___

Patrolling the streets at night proves to be more difficult than Alec expected. He gets the brilliant idea two nights in to follow Captain Garroway’s police car during the investigation, and maybe use his super hearing to listen in on the radio comms for any sign of Blackwell.

He pulls his goggles up and swings his legs over the edge of the building he’s sitting on top of. He’s been waiting by the cop car for ten minutes now, and he quickly feels like he’s wasting his time. If nothing happens in the next ten minutes, Alec is going to have to find Blackwell on his own.

From the edge of the rooftop Alec peers down below. He never really had a fear of heights, but this drop isn’t so low, and yet, Alec feels totally at ease. If it had to be a spider that bit him, he’s at least glad for the new sense of balance he has.

Feeling a little daring, Alec strips off his backpack and sets it aside. He goes into an easy handstand on the very edge of the building, exhaling. He learned how to do handstands from gym sessions with Jace, but this is taking it to a whole new level. He slowly goes up on his fingertips, suddenly feeling light as a feather as he transitions seamlessly. Then, with the final deep inhale and exhale, Alec pulls one hand away until he’s doing a handstand on his fingertips on only his right hand.

He jumps back onto the building easily, a grin on his face. Alec feels powerful and stable, and he’s sure there are people who have trained decades to get even half the skillset Alec acquired overnight, and due to that Alec knows he’s been given a gift.

During the first few nights, Alec remembers worrying that these weird new powers would somehow take control of his body. Maybe he’s seen one too many sci fi movies, but it’s a legitimate concern. For right now, he supposes, he might as well enjoy it while he can.

He checks the time on his watch and sighs. Maybe following cop cars is effective, but not as speedy as Alec would have liked.

The night ends up going by extremely slow, and Alec manages to catch two men, but neither of them have the red circle marks on their necks. At some point, Alec is given a free hot dog from one of the vendors when Alec stopped someone just before they crashed into the corner cart.

Alec watches the sun come up over the horizon, positioned on a rooftop somewhere in the Upper East Side.

There’s a certain peace to watching the sun rise from such a height. He thinks, offhandedly, that Magnus would love this view. Maybe one day Alec can show him.

He glances at his wrist. 6:05 AM. Good thing his morning class was canceled, and Alec can spend the morning catching up on some sleep.

Alec’s reaching down to grab his backpack when he hears a shout, and, without any hesitation, he slings his backpack over his shoulder, positions his goggles, and hops into a spring across the building. He jumps off of it and shoots a web out of his wrist to swing towards the voice.

“Let go of me!”

Alec lands swiftly down onto a gated alleyway, right between a group of taller and what appears to be older kids picking on someone a lot smaller than them. The scene feels oddly familiar, like a memory from his own childhood.

He stands defensively in front of the girl being picked on, and the group of bullies spares one look at him before screaming and running away. Alec chuckles at that, and his goggles fog up a bit.

Fuck, he really needs to switch those out for something more practical soon.

Alec turns on his heels and looks at the girl, who can’t be more than nine years old, clutching a plaster volcano as close to her chest as possible without breaking it.

“Hey,” Alec says softly, his voice the same level of softness he’d use with Max when Max was younger. “You okay? Did they hurt you?”

“No,” the girl says immediately, visibly relaxing at the fact that Alec seems to be a normal guy and not some psychopath. “They said they were gonna destroy my volcano.”

“Well then, I’m glad I came right on time. What’s your name?” Alec asks, crouching down to the girl’s height.

“Zoe,” the girl says, looking at Alec curiously.

“And you built this volcano all by yourself, Zoe?”

“Yeah,” Zoe says, a small proud smile on her face at she looks at her creation. If Alec were to guess, he’d say this looked like a science fair project of some sort. Regardless, he’s impressed, and has no problem letting Zoe know.

“Oh my god! That’s incredible, Zoe. I know someone who loves science, and would call this project a huge success. C’mon, lemme walk you to school. Do you like science?” Alec asks, as Zoe starts enthusiastically describing her science class and the last thing they learned, and how she’s hoping to get first place in the science fair.

Alec leaves Zoe a block away from the school, watching her go in safely before he finally feels the exhaustion from pulling an all nighter weigh on his body.

By the time he makes it home, Alec can barely keep his eyes open, and he triple checks that all his heroic things are safely stored out of sight before he plops on the bed and falls fast asleep.

___

 **@museumlad** : LOOK AT THIS SHIT I SAW IN NYC TODAY IT’S SOME DUDE SWINGING IN BETWEEN BUILDINGS LOL [ 25.5k Retweets | 100k Likes ]

 **@science4life123:** _@_ museumlad: That video looks fake. Extraordinary velocity vector is a function of both mass and acceleration.

 **@bigjenny6:** @museumlad @science4life123: Oh, come on. You know better than anyone that the weight above any pendulum has no effect on sling state.

 **@science4life123:** @museumlad @bigjenny6: It doesn't affect frequency, but it's totally a factor in momentum.

 **@carpark:** @museumlad: yo that dude looks SICK haha he’s like a frickin spider

 **@spiderguy:** @museumlad: handle changed to spiderguy because he’s totally hot

 **@Machines4:** @museumlad: that guy’s an idiot

 **@proudfedora:** @museumlad: do we need a rando trying to save us? That’s what the POLICE are for!!!! They’re the REAL heroes!!

 **@_askondeys_:** @proudfedora: shut up

___

Alec carefully removes the sunglass lenses from the rims, making sure not to break through the plastic. He moves them onto their position on top of the red spandex headpiece and tilts his head, rethinking the outfit choice.

Realistically, Alec knows he has to wear the spandex - it’s the only breathable material that’ll support his flexibility and won’t break apart. He’s not very gifted in the clothing department, so the stitches of his new suit are uneven and messy, but it’ll have to do.

He’s sitting in his room in nothing but his underwear, laser focused on the task at hand. Alec’s been brainstorming new ideas for the suit all day, especially since his jeans ripped right down the middle last night after Alec performed a particularly impressive backflip.

After extensive research on athletes and maybe a little inspiration from comic book heroes, Alec figures out that he can’t escape from his spandex doom. This suit is a whole other obstacle he has to overcome.

In the midst of his work, he hears a knock on the door. Alec jerks his head up, when a voice speaks up.

“Alec? Can I come in?”

It’s Max. Fuck, Alec completely forgot Max was supposed to come over tonight with Izzy. Jace probably picked him up from school, and here Alec was, with his huge secret sprawled out all over his room for anyone to see.

 _Shit_.

“Just a second!” Alec calls, fumbling out of his desk chair and almost face planting on the ground. He starts stuffing the new and improved suit into his backpack, and shoves the needle and thread as well as other tools he was using into a desk drawer. He kicks his sketches of the suit under his bed and double checks that there isn’t any stray pieces of his alter ego lying around before opening the door, trying to act nonchalant.

“What’s up?” Alec asks, leaning against the doorframe before remembering the fact that he’s standing there in only his underwear.

Max looks Alec up and down with a confused and weirded out expression on his face.

“Why are you so… _naked_?” Max asks.

“Um,” Alec says, trying to scatter his brain to think of an excuse for his lack of clothes. “I was changing my wardrobe. From my winter clothes to my summer clothes. And I had to make sure that everything still - fit.”

 _Good one, Lightwood_ , he mentally cheered.

“Uh huh,” Max hums, clearly still a little put off. “And does it?”

“Yep, yeah, everything's a-okay,” Alec nods as an awkward pause settles between the two of them.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Max says, breaking the silence, “Jace said you’d be able to pick up the FIFA game I wanted sometime this week.”

Alec remembers Hodge asking him to buy the game for Max, and he can hear the unspoken truth that Max was waiting for Hodge to buy it for him before the events of last week happened.

“Yeah, sure,” Alec says, attempting a small smile despite his nerves still being on edge from the past five minutes.

“Thanks,” Max says. Then he jerks his thumb back over his shoulder. “We’re gonna order pizza while we wait for Izzy, wanna join?”

“I can’t,” Alec says, his smile falling. “I have lots of work to do. School work and job applications and um, stuff.”

Max just shrugs and nods, and Alec tries his best not to beat himself up about it as he closes the door to his room, leaning back against it, his whole body sagging in relief. Every day feels like it’s getting harder and harder to keep this identity a secret, especially from the closest people in his life. As usual, though, Alec pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind and starts getting dressed.

He has a long night ahead of him.

___

“Welcome back to Channel 4 News. I’m your host, Lydia Branwell, coming to you live with a developing story. Recently, in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, we’ve been seeing a man in a red and blue suit running around trying to play the hero.

“He swings on some sort of rope from building to building, and while police haven’t made an official report yet, I’m sure they’re not too happy to have a vigilante to worry about. He’s been photographed on rooftops, and while his identity still remains a mystery, I’m sure everyone is dying to know the same thing: who is this Spiderman?”

___

Alec swings on the webbing and lands on the side of a building, sticking to it seamlessly. His past heroic adventures have taught him more about how to work with his powers and use them to his advantage. The new suit is flimsy, and keeps ripping right near his foot, but it’s the best he can do right now.

The cop cars from the past few days have led him to countless random guys, none of which are who Alec is looking for. It feels like he’s more of a friendly neighborhood hero than a man on a mission for revenge. Yesterday he helped an old lady cross the street, and three days ago he literally saved a cat from a tree.

They’re all good deeds, but Alec still feels undone with this Blackwell hunt. It feels like he just keep running into dead ends.

He’s watching the cop car speed away from his position on the side of the building, and he rests his forehead against the brick wall for a moment, taking a deep breath and trying to figure out his next move. He has a final to study for, but he’s getting so close. Alec can feel it.

After a few deep breaths, his hyper senses pick up on something in the distance. He focuses on the noise, closing his eyes in concentration.

He can’t make out exactly what’s going on, too many people muttering in panic, so Alec decides to check out the scene for himself. Alec launches a web and swings down 8th avenue, rounding the corner on 23rd only to notice how unusually empty it is. There’s commotion coming from a bank on the corner, and Alec approaches steadily.

“Hands up where I can see them! Nobody move!”

Alec leans against a wall on the side of the bank, his heart racing. Maybe he should just call the police. He’s about to whip out his phone, but when he looks up to see which bank he’s at, his stomach drops.

This is Magnus’ bank. The branch he goes to when he needs to stop in after work, which Alec knows Magnus is doing today.

His mind jumps to the worst case scenario, and he can’t bear the thought of Magnus being in there, scared out of his mind with a gun pointed to his head.

Alec feels like he’s going to have a panic attack, but he’s more certain now that he can’t sit around and wait for the police to show up. By the sound of it, there are at least a dozen people in there, and he doesn’t know how many shooters. If Magnus is in there, and in trouble, Alec needs to help.

He takes his backpack off and flings it up, webbing it to the wall, and trying to figure out a plan.

If he waltzes in there, he risks the chance of getting shot, or getting someone else killed. If he attempts to sneak in, he risks someone else dying while he takes his time.

One thing is certain, he needs to move fast.

Out of nowhere, three gunshots are fired, and Alec freezes, breathing rapidly.

“I said, nobody move. Take off any gold you’re wearing, and start unloading accounts, and nobody will get hurt.”

They were warning shots, Alec thinks, and lets his shoulder sag momentarily.

Time to do something. Time to be a hero.

Alec sees the emergency exit for the bank just towards the side, and makes up his mind. If he goes through it, it’ll alert the cops, and all he’ll have to do is distract the gunmen long enough.

He bolts in through it and quickly moves when one of the three gunmen points their gun at him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Alec threatens, and then all hell breaks loose. He can sense that the gunman is about to pull the trigger and fire a shot at him, so he strings a web onto the man’s gun and tugs on it, sending it flying behind him and out of the criminal’s hand.

The other guys look fucking pissed, and Alec repeats the actions with both of their guns as well, and all of a sudden two out of the three of them are running to attack him. Alec ducks as one guy tries to punch him, and dodges when another guy tries to stab him with a knife he’s taken out of his shoe.  

“You fucking prick,” one of the men curses, and Alec can immediately sense that the man with the knife is the most dangerous. He can see the tallest of the members, the one meant to be watching the hostages try to make a run for his gun, but Alec quickly kicks one of the men in the stomach and backflips over another one, before shooting a larger web with both hands and sending the tallest criminal flying to the wall, sticking him to it.

Alec whirls around and jumps, stretching his legs out and kicking both men in the chest before he lands on the ground in a crouch. One of the guys is grunting in pain, but another one seems relentless, bouncing up and tackling Alec to the ground.

Alec isn’t in a position of power anymore. He struggles, finding himself short of breath as the large man holds him down, trying to get a good punch in.

 _This guy is gonna break my nose_ , Alec thinks momentarily, before finding his footing and flinging him into the glass facade of the bank, shattering it entirely. The guy looks like he’s in severe pain, but the other guy on the ground is grabbing at Alec’s feet, clearly still trying to fight.

“Everybody get out!” Alec yells to the group of people, watching them race out the now shattered wall frame. He barely has time to check if everyone’s okay, much less to see if Magnus was in that crowd. Instead, Alec flicks a web over the last criminal’s mouth, watching him panic, and flicks another one over his hands to bind them together.

He looks over at the guns, and feels a chill run down his spine. Those could have killed people. Innocent people. Alec was pretty sure there was at least one child in the crowd.

Alec wastes no time in making sure the man he threw against the glass wall is unable to cause any more trouble. He binds his hands with webbing as well, and surveys the crowd of people standing outside the bank.

Alec prepares to see fear in their eyes, but instead he finds - awe. He saved them today. They don’t fear him.

They _admire_ him.

Alec makes his way towards the street, ready to ask if anyone needs a medic, his head feeling foggy from the fight he was just in, and his back hurting from the way the man pinned him to the ground, when four police cars swoop in around him abruptly.

He stands perfectly still, his pulse going a mile a minute as he watches none other than Detective Santiago get out of one of the cars and study Alec. Alec makes sure to keep his posture in check, and his hyper senses pick up on the detective, just so slightly reaching for his gun, and that’s all it takes for Alec to fling a webbing up towards the nearest building and swing out of the scene and towards his apartment.

Changing in an alley has become second nature to Alec at this point, and he does it in less than a minute this time. He’s _pretty_ sure he didn’t see Magnus’ familiar face in the crowd, but he can’t be sure, and it shakes him to the core. Not knowing if Magnus is hurt or not is terrifying. Especially with the recent events in his life.

It’s the only reason he’s moving so fast. Alec needs to see Magnus himself. Make sure he’s okay and whole and solid and unharmed.

Alec climbs up the side of his building at rapid speed, careful not to be seen even though it’s dark out, and opens the window to his room up, tumbling inside gracefully. He tosses his backpack onto his bed and runs out of the apartment and into the hall, banging on Magnus’ door.

It feels like a lifetime before Magnus opens the door, and when Alec sees him he immediately pulls Magnus into a tight hug, burrowing his face in Magnus’ neck and closing his eyes, relief washing over him.

“Alec?” Magnus asks, confusion in his voice as he wraps his arms around Alec as well, hugging him back. “Are you alright?”

Alec pulls away, looking studying Magnus’ face and breathing heavily from the amount of energy he just exerted and from all the nerves.

“I heard about - about the bank robbery. I know you were going there today after work and I -” Alec says in between pants, and Magnus shushes him.

“I went in my lunch break instead, Alexander, I was home at five thirty,” Magnus says, and there’s a soft smile on his face. He’s looking at Alec with the same expression as those people on the street.

Except, they weren’t looking at Alec. They were looking at Spiderman with awe, but Magnus - Magnus is looking at him.

“I’m okay, I promise,” Magnus says, his hands resting on Alec’s shoulders.

Alec finally smiles a little, infinitely glad that Magnus is standing right in front of him, safe and - rather close. Their torsos are almost touching and Alec can see every detail of Magnus’ face, from the beauty mark above his left eyebrow to the warmth in his deep brown eyes. He drinks Magnus in, unable to stop his gaze dipping down to Magnus’ lips for just a moment.

Alec could kiss him. If he just leant forward the tiniest bit, their lips would meet.

When Alec tears his eyes back to Magnus’, he sees something pass over Magnus’ expression, looking almost like - well, almost like lingering desire. Alec swallows hard as Magnus licks his lips, and he’s gazing into Magnus’ eyes when the reason he’s here in the first place jumps into his mind.

The bank robbery. He’d come to check Magnus was safe, and he has. He’s still full of adrenaline, high on seeing Magnus safe and whole and smiling, and there’s no way he’s in the right mindset to be thinking about kissing Magnus. Not when he wants to do it as much as he does and this is the closest he’s ever come to doing it.

Kissing Magnus, Alec decides, is something that should be done right.

“Would you like to come in?” Magnus asks, the words ghosting over Alec’s face. They’re still just a breath apart, and when Alec looks around, he notices with a start that they’re still in the doorway of Magnus’ apartment. The whole world could have caved in and he wouldn’t have noticed, not with Magnus in front of him.

“Yeah,” Alec breathes out, following Magnus when he turns reluctantly to move inside, and closing the door behind him.

The TV in Magnus’ living room is on a news channel, reporting about the bank robbery in detail. Shaking away the moment he’d just had with Magnus, Alec turns his attention to it curiously, reading the bottom of the screen: _SPIDERMAN SAVES NEW YORKERS FROM GUNMEN._

Spiderman, Alec thinks. That’s new.

“I have a feeling that Spiderman kid is gonna end up being a huge pain in my ass,” a new voice says, and Alec turns to catch sight of Captain Garroway stepping into Magnus’ living room, an easy smile on his face

“Hello, Captain,” Alec replies politely, and doesn’t miss the fond smile on Magnus’ face when he glances over at him.

“Please, call me Luke,” Luke says. “Captain is only for when I’m on the clock.”

“Noted,” Alec replies. “If you don’t mind me asking, Luke, why aren’t you out there with the rest of the NYPD?”

Luke smiles and raises his beer bottle. “Perks of being a CO,” he says, “you get to finish at normal time some days. Took me a decade of working overtime, but now I get to enjoy myself a little.” He sighs happily and drops down on the couch. “I’ve got my phone in case they need me, but that’s not likely - no casualties, no people injured, and all three gunmen being handed to the NYPD on a silver platter? Raphael can handle that.”

Alec nods in understanding. Over the last couple of weeks, he’s been in contact with Luke a few times, mostly about the case. Luke has mentioned anecdotes about Raphael once or twice, so Alec isn’t surprised to hear him name drop him now in such a familial way, especially around Magnus.

“Of course he can,” Magnus says proudly.

“Hey, Alec,” Luke says, as Magnus sits down on the couch, “grab a beer and join us - we were just about to order some Thai food.”

Alec glances between the two of them and smiles with a shrug.

“Sure,” he says easily, grateful to have something to take his mind off today’s events. “I should probably be studying for my finals, but I can take a break.”

Magnus rolls his eyes affectionately. “Just don’t blame us for distracting you, Alexander,” he teases, and Alec wants to say _you’re plenty distracting on your own_ , but he doesn’t.

Luke claps Alec on the shoulder. “You deserve some time to yourself,” he says, and somehow Alec knows that Luke isn’t just talking about taking a study break. Even though he’s not known Luke for that long and they have a fairly professional relationship, Luke’s warm and easy going, and he seems to genuinely care about Alec and his siblings. Alec’s grateful that someone like him took over Hodge’s case, to be honest.

Alec spends the next couple of hours at Magnus’ watching TV and eating take out with them. When he gets home, he sees a couple of discarded pizza boxes on the kitchen counter and a few cans of soda on the coffee table.

Jace emerges from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He looks marginally surprised to see Alec, but then scowls and walks to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Alec jumps a little, but he can’t help feeling like he deserves it.

___

THE DAILY BUGLE

**New Hero In NYC**

BY DOROTHEA ROLLINS    |  14 April, 2017

Chelsea, New York - Terrified onlookers were saved in a bank robbery that took place at Citibank on 23rd Street in Chelsea yesterday evening, not by the NYPD, but by a masked hero.

The two perpetrators burst into the bank at 5.45 p.m., waving guns and shouting for the bank tellers to hand over the money and for everyone there to hand over their jewelry. The masked hero snuck in, opening an emergency door which alerted the police, and took out the thieves.

One eyewitness described the man as shooting spider webs from his hands. She said, “It was like something out of a movie. He zapped them to the wall with this spider web stuff.”

“I know he was wearing a mask, but you could tell that he was a good person,” she added.

A deli owner from Soho, who was outside the bank at the time, said, “Spiderman did the job better than the police could do. He saved everyone in that building.”

The so-called ‘Spiderman’ has been spotted at crime scenes before, helping the victims and leaving the criminals he finds trapped until the police can arrive.

Opinions are divided, with some naming him a vigilante and others calling him a hero. Spiderman has been spotted around the city, dealing with a host of crimes the NYPD have yet to investigate.

The NYPD has declined to comment.

 _WATCH_ : See thedailybugle.com to watch security footage of Spiderman in action.

 _RELATED LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB_ : 7 Criminals Stopped By Spiderman (Number 5 Will Shock You!) | This Man Tried To Fight Spidey - You Won’t Believe What Happens Next!

___

Alec shuts the front door to the apartment as quietly as he can, letting his rucksack drop to the floor with a muted thud. He leans his head back against the door and exhales, aching all over. After a moment, he manages to peel himself away from the door and is about to start walking to his bedroom when he spots a figure sitting at the kitchen table and jumps five foot in the air.

Heart hammering, he slams his hand to his chest. “Jesus _fuck_ , Jace -”

Jace’s blonde hair glints in the moonlight streaming through the kitchen window. His hand is curled around a mug and there’s a frown on his face.

“Where the hell have you been, man?” Jace asks. “I thought you’d been working on a project for school, or something.”

“I was,” Alec says unconvincingly, and the only saving grace is that Jace obviously has something he wants to talk about, because he ignores the blatant lie.

“Did you get the game for Max?” Jace asks sharply, straight to the point.

“Shit,” Alec breathes, clunking his head against the door again. “No. I’ll get it tomorrow.”

“Right,” Jace says flatly. “They were here today, by the way - Max and Izzy. You would have known that if you’d been around.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “Well, I wasn’t. I was busy.”

“What, like the time you forgot to pick up Max?” Jace asks. “You seem to be forgetting about us a lot, recently, don’t you? Your _family_.”

Alec recoils, his stomach squeezing painfully. That’s not fair. He knows he’s been spending a lot of time out the house, but family is the reason why he’s doing all that. He has to make things right. For Hodge.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Jace,” Alec says tiredly, pushing off the door. He leaves his bag in a heap and limps to one of the kitchen chairs.

“You’re right, I don’t,” Jace snaps, “because you never tell me anything any more. All these secrets, Alec - wasn’t that why you hated Hodge?”

“I didn’t hate him,” Alec says immediately. “You know I didn’t.”

Jace scoffs and swills his drink around his mug, not looking at Alec. He takes a moment to compose himself, sucking in a breath and shaking his head. “Izzy asked me today how you were. I told her I’d let her know when I found out myself.”

“Jace -”

“No, Alec!” Jace’s voice wavers for the first time and he meets Alec’s eyes with a vulnerable expression. “I don’t even know if my own brother’s okay! We never see you. _I_ never see you - you’re my best friend and I _live_ with you and I don’t even have a fucking clue what’s going on in your head!” He exhales harshly, swiping at his eyes. “Hodge _died_ , Alec, and _none_ of us are okay.”

Alec reaches out to Jace but Jace pulls his hand from the mug and wraps his arms around himself.

“This isn’t how we do things,” Jace mumbles, almost to himself. “Lightwoods, all together, remember?”

“I know,” Alec says at once. “I’m sorry.”

Jace sighs, looking forlornly down at his mug. “Let us in, Alec,” he says, raising his head to meet Alec’s gaze again. “Your secrets have a cost. They’re not free - not now, not ever.”

Alec swallows. He traces the grain of the table with his thumbnail. “I can’t,” he says, after a pause, because how can he tell Jace about everything that’s been going on? Everything that he found out? His siblings loved Hodge, and he doesn’t want to tell them what he knows about Hodge and his parents working for Valentine - and, besides, he’s Izzy’s _boss_.

That’s without starting on the whole hyper senses and beating up bad guys in the dead of night thing he’s got going on.

He feels trapped, wanting to protect his siblings from the horrors that the world is throwing at them. If it means he can keep them safe, he’d take that burden a thousand times over, and stay silent while it crushed him just so they wouldn’t suffer.

“I can’t tell you,” he says, hating himself.

Jace looks brokenly at Alec for a moment before his expression hardens and his faces closes off. “Fine,” he says shortly, jaw clenched. He scrapes back his chair, then puts his mug in the sink and turns back to Alec. “Let me know when you finally pull your head out of your ass.”

___

"Captain Garroway of the NYPD will now address the public in a statement."

"Good evening, citizens of New York City. In recent days, some of you may have seen or heard reports of a man some are claiming is a hero. He stops bad guys and fights crime, and stands up for the victims.

But life isn’t that simple, and it’s not that easy. Fairness and justice are the principles we should live by, and one man taking it upon himself to serve punishments as he sees fit is not how our legal system works.

‘Spiderman’ is nothing but a vigilante, and I urge anyone with information about him to come forward. We have set up a telephone hotline and will be responding on social media to anyone who sees or comes into contact with him. Please do your duty in helping keep your city safe. Thank you."

___

When Alec finally gets home that afternoon, the apartment is quiet. He shuts the door with a sigh of relief, grateful that he doesn’t have to keep hiding this weird double life he’s found himself living, or endure any more of Jace’s unsubtle snark.

Things have been tense between them since their fight last week. Just this morning, Alec had barely been up an hour when Jace started yelling at him for using up all the hot water.

Alec didn’t know how to tell him he was trying to wash blood out of his makeshift fighting suit. It’s not like he can just put the thing in the laundry basket.

Alec’s stomach growls loudly. He heads to the kitchen to make a snack - he’s so hungry all the time now, it’s like he’s going through puberty again. What a wild ride it had been the first time.

The microwave dings and he pulls out the mac and cheese, then grabs a fork and heads to his room. He’s got so much stuff to do before tomorrow - he has two papers to read for class and his suit has a massive tear in it from wrist to shoulder on the left arm that he needs to fix, but first he’s going to eat his food.

He can deal with the other shit later.

Alec pulls his suit out of his rucksack and leaves it on the end of his bed, ready to sew up when he has time, then dumps the mask on his desk and opens his laptop to Netflix. He relaxes back onto the bed with his food and just takes the time to breathe while he watches mindless TV, headphones plugged in, drowning out any sound of the world around him.

The trash he’s watching is annoyingly addictive. He’s tells himself just one more, and as he clicks onto the eighth episode, the door to his bedroom opens and Jace pokes his head in.

Alec’s in the middle of yanking out his headphones and telling Jace to get out when Jace’s expression changes from mildly annoyed to utter confusion.

“- have you seen my - what the fuck is that, Alec?”

It takes a moment for Alec to realise what Jace is looking at, wide eyed. He glances to the side and spots the suit.

Shit.

 _Shit_.

Alec abandons the idea of throwing himself bodily across the bed to cover up the suit almost instantly.

“It’s just...” he starts, casting around mentally for an explanation that doesn’t make him sound like he’s lost his mind. He fails. “It’s just stuff.”

Alec mentally face palms.

“Oh my God,” Jace says, under his breath. “Oh my _God_.”

Alec sits perfectly still, eyes as wide as saucers as he watches the wheels turn in Jace’s head. Maybe if he doesn’t move, Jace will magically forget the last two minutes of his life.

“It’s _you_ ,” Jace finally says, eyebrows raised incredulously. “You’re him. That guy from the news. The one who stopped the bank robbery.”

“Bank robbery?” Alec asks, trying to sound like this is news to him. Jace doesn’t buy it for a second and fixes him with a hard look.

“Cut the crap, Alec. You’re a terrible liar.” Jace takes a step closer into the room and peers curiously at the suit. “It’s really you,” he mumbles.

“Surprise,” Alec says weakly, sending Jace a smile that’s more of a grimace.

“What the fuck,” Jace says, like he still can’t believe it. His eyes land on the gash on the arm and his gaze flits over Alec for a moment, lingering on the left side of Alec’s body. “What the _fuck_ ,” he repeats, louder this time. “You tried to stop a _bank robbery_ , Alec. That’s not - that’s, like, next level shit!

“I saw the news - they had guns and they were threatening to _shoot_ people and you thought, ‘hey, I’m just gonna go and join the fucking party!’ _What the fuck!”_ Jace throws his hands in the air. “What the fuck possessed you to do that, huh? You, what, wanted a taste of danger? Wanted a bit of a thrill? Wanted to know what getting shot felt like for -”

“Jace,” Alec snaps, “don’t fucking finish that sentence. You know it wasn’t like that.”

“How do I know, Alec?” Jace yells. “You never tell me anything!”

Jace exhales noisily, breathing raggedly in the otherwise silent room. Alec glares at him for a moment, and then Jace sighs, shaking his head. He takes a couple of steps into the room so he can pull out Alec’s desk chair, then sits down on it heavily, staring at the suit with wide eyes.

His brow creases. “How’d it get ripped?” he asks distantly, after a pregnant pause.

Alec’s a little thrown by the sudden change of subject, but the fight seems to have dropped out of Jace for now, so he seizes the opportunity to move the conversation on, even if Jace does want to know about one of the dumbest and most embarrassing moments of Alec’s life.

“I -” Alec closes his mouth with a snap, self-conscious. “Dunno,” he says shrugging and curling his lip. “Just did.”

Jace rolls his eyes. “Come on, man. You keep something this big from me, you owe me that story.”

Alec sighs and braces himself for the teasing. “I got attacked by a pigeon and fell off a fence.”

Jace splutters, then doubles over with laughter while Alec fixes him with a stony look. Slapping his leg, Jace repeats, “attacked by a pigeon,” breathlessly, several times, and when he’s finally stopped laughing enough to speak, he still has tears in his eyes.

“Okay, now we’re even,” he says, chuckling and wiping at his eyes.

Like that, Jace’s laughter cleanses them, washing away the unbearable tension that’s been brewing between the pair of them since last week. Alec watches Jace for a moment.

“We’re okay?” he asks quietly.

Jace meets his gaze, then nods to the suit. “Chuck it here,” he says, holding his hands out. “What, you don’t think I’m gonna let you loose with a sewing machine after last time, do you?”

Alec can’t find it in himself to be offended; he grins widely and tosses the suit to Jace. It might not have been a direct answer to his question, but in Jace’s reply he hears the unspoken admission: yes, they’re okay.

Jace runs his fingers over the rip in the fabric, then shakes his head. “Which idiot made this?” he asks, playing with the frayed threads around the tear.

Alec clears his throat, unimpressed. “That would be me.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jace raises his eyebrows at Alec. “You need a better suit than this.”

“Do you know anyone who might help me make one?” Alec asks, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Jace rolls his eyes, then glances down at the suit. His thumb trails over the rip. “Don’t keep this shit from me again, Alec,” he says, a rough edge to his voice. Alec hears the unspoken mention of Max and Izzy, and how they lost Hodge, too. He knows he doesn't have to ask Jace to keep his secret, because he will, but he needs to be careful. “We can’t lose you, too.”

Alec feels like he’s been kicked in the stomach and he drops his head, ashamed. It’s not like he hadn’t known he got reckless at times, and that there’d be consequences for his actions, but he’d pushed away the impact him getting injured - or worse - would have on his loved ones to the very back of his mind.

 _“They were Lightwoods,”_ he remembers Hodge saying derisively. _“They knew the consequences of their actions and they accepted them. That was the price they paid.”_

Alec nods, feeling small. He waits for Jace to look at him before he speaks. “I won’t,” he says sincerely. “I promise.”

Jace searches his face for any sign of doubt, but something of his conviction must bleed through into his voice, because Jace nods once, sharply, after a long moment.

They move into the kitchen so Jace has better light to sew by and more space. He complains loudly about the cheap spandex the whole time, telling Alec he knows a guy who can get him better quality material, and Alec just rolls his eyes fondly, continuing with his story of how he got his superpowers.

After a couple of hours, Alec starts making dinner for them both, leaving Jace frowning at the suit as he sews it, muttering the occasional curse. They eat dinner on their laps on the couch, the kitchen table covered in scraps of fabric, threads and pins.

Alec passes out on the couch in the middle of reading one of his papers, and is woken up when a pillow hits his face.

“Here,” Jace says, yawning and holding out the neatly folded suit. “If you’re gonna go play the hero and get your dumb ass beaten up, you might as well look good while you’re doing it.”

Alec sits up, dumping his paper on the floor unceremoniously. The light in the living room indicates that it’s the morning, and by the looks of the bags under Jace’s eyes, he can tell Jace spent all night perfecting Alec’s suit. He takes it from Jace with a pleased smile, running his fingers over the spider on the front.

“You know,” Jace says, jerking his head at the design, “since you’re embracing the spider rep.”

“That’s me,” Alec says, smiling self-deprecatingly, “Spiderman. Thanks, Jace,” he adds, a lump in his throat. He looks up to see Jace smiling sadly at him, and he places the suit carefully on the couch before standing up in front of Jace. “Hey,” he says softly, “I’m sorry.”

Jace shrugs, flopping down onto one of the couch cushions. He plays with the hem of his hoodie, not looking at Alec.

“It’s okay,” he says, and to anyone who didn’t know him as well as Alec, he would appear completely unaffected. But he has little tells that Alec has been able to read since they were just kids - the little crinkle in his brow, the way his thumb and forefinger rub together over and over.

“No, it’s not,” Alec says, sighing heavily as he sits back down on the couch. “I didn’t mean to lie to you, Jace. It’s not that I don’t trust you or that I don’t wanna let you into my life anymore, I just - I have to keep you safe. All of you. I have to protect you.”

“And swinging round the city where you could fall and break your neck at any point is protecting us, huh?” Jace asks, but there’s not much heat behind it, just concern.

Alec exhales slowly, rubbing at his eye. “In a way, yeah,” he says. “I’m looking for answers about Hodge and the person who kill - who shot him and this is how I’m finding out. I need to make sure they don’t come after us again.”

“What are you going to do when you find them?” Jace asks sharply, then sighs, still fiddling with his jumper. “That’s what the police are for, Alec. They do this shit all the time. It’s their _job_.”

Alec doesn’t answer, clenching his jaw and looking away.

“I saw a video of you, you know. I mean, I didn’t know it was you, but you were swinging from this police helicopter, literally dangling by a thread.” He throws his hands in the air, finally looking at Alec. “What if you get hurt? What happens to Izzy and Max and me then?”

Alec closes his eyes, fending off images of his siblings left alone, again. He doesn’t even want to imagine it.

“I won’t,” he says, trying to sound more confident than he feels. He looks down at his hands, turning them over, palm up. “The thread doesn’t break. It’s spider silk.”

Jace quirks a brow. “Oh, well, if it’s _spider silk_ , I take it all back, then,” he says, and for a moment he sounds like his usual self.

Alec narrows his eyes, then shoots a web at the remote control and pulls it towards himself.

Jace’s nose wrinkles. “I’m...not gonna say what that reminds me of.”

Alec snorts, unable to help himself, and then he’s laughing harder than he has in weeks. When he thinks he’s just about calmed down, he catches sight of the remote again and starts laughing again, and it’s another few minutes before he can get enough breath to speak.

“Only you, Jace,” Alec says affectionately, chuckling. Jace watches him, smiling, and then he glances down at his hands.

“Just promise me you’ll try and be safe,” he says plaintively, turning his eyes to Alec. Alec swallows, meeting Jace’s gaze head on and nodding.

“I’ll do my best,” he says. He wishes he could find more words to say, to reassure Jace that he’ll be fine - that _they_ will be fine, all the Lightwoods, but he can’t promise that. The most he can do is make a vow to Jace that he’ll try to stay safe, and hope that it’s enough.

“You better,” Jace says, with some semblance of his usual humour, “or I’ll kick your ass myself.”

“You still think you could kick my ass?” Alec asks, grinning.

Jace rolls his eyes. “We discussed this,” he stresses. “I’m the athletic one in the family.” Then his eyes widen in horror. “Now _you’re_ the athletic one?”

“Damn right,” Alec laughs.

“Aw, man,” Jace says, curling up on the couch. “What am I then?”

Alec looks him over with narrowed eyes. “I guess you have to be the pretty one now,” he says sympathetically. “Although Max might fight you on that in a few years.”

Jace lets out an offended scoff, then drops his head back on the couch cushion and sighs. “Go on, then,” he says, blinking up at the ceiling.

“Go and what?”

Jace lifts his head, smiling properly at Alec. “Try the suit on, dickhead.”

Alec grins and flips him off, then picks up the suit and heads to his room to change into it. Before he does anything, he spreads the suit out on the bed, marvelling at the care Jace has taken in creating it. Alec smooths his thumb over the neat stitching, the soft fabric, and his throat feels thick with emotion again.

He pulls his T-shirt over his head and strips out of his jeans, leaving him in just his boxer briefs. Alec picks up the suit carefully, then steps into it one leg at a time. The material slips over his skin like water, easing on in a way the suit Alec put together never did.

Jace has added various panels and reinforcements over key pressure points, like Alec’s knees, hips, and elbows. Most of the suit is navy blue, but there’s a red strip up the outer side of each leg, joined by a band across the small of Alec’s back. The red extends over his torso, too, making the angular, stylised black spider stand out.

Alec wiggles his fingers in the red gloves that complete the sleeves, then tries moving about a bit. There’s no restriction to his movement, so he tries jumping from his bed to the ceiling, and finds the suit is completely flexible. He drops to the floor in a squat, one hand splayed in front of him.

Alec smiles. It’s perfect.

A knock at the door makes him straighten up.

“You can come in,” he calls.

Jace whistles lowly when he enters the room. “Damn, I’m good. I should have been a textiles teacher.”

Alec rolls his eyes as Jace circles him, prodding at parts of the suit, and Alec watches him in the full length mirror in his room.

“I put a name label in the back, by the way,” Jace says, pointing to the fabric just over the small of Alec’s back. “I guess you can just go to lost and found if you misplace it.”

“Shut up,” Alec says affectionately, turning so he can see the back of the suit in the mirror. Then he stands straight again, looking at himself face on.

“So,” Jace says, scrutinising Alec in the mirror from over his left shoulder, “what do you think?”

Alec feels the smile tugging at his lips and can’t help puffing out his chest a little. “I think...I think I look like Spiderman.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing HIGHlights of ch5:  
> 
> 
>   * “alec’s heart explodes” - elle 
>   * “idk how much writing i'll get done tonight b/c i'm on beer number 3 and elle is getting tipsy” - elle
>   * “alec can swing with webbing, i don’t know if u know that” - elle to charl, her co writer of this fic about spiderman
>   * “I don’t know what I’m writing” - elle
>   * “FIX MY ERRORS” - elle
> 

> 
> a huge thank u to [ceci](http://daddariossmile.tumblr.com) for beta'ing!!! <3 <3
> 
> small warning for brief mentions of body horror, hodge's death, & homophobia

Alec plays with the pen in his hand, idly doodling on his paper as he waits for Luke to call. School has been kicking his ass lately, and he’s looking forward to the semester finally ending. It’ll give him one less thing to worry about.

Last night after class he went to dinner with his siblings, and it was - well it was nice. Alec thought he could carry all of the burden on his own, but he forgot that that’s why his siblings are there. They’re a family, a unit. 

Max and Izzy were understanding when Alec apologized, and Alec couldn’t help but think how lucky he was. From Jace making him his incredible suit, to Max and Izzy being caring and strong support systems, Alec knows that if nothing else, he has his family to lean on. 

His phone buzzes on the island table and Alec grabs it quickly, tapping the ‘Accept’ button. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey, Alec,” Luke says from the other line, his voice relaxed. “How’s your day been?”

“Uneventful,” Alec says, despite it being a blatant lie, since he rescued two women from a building fire in Queens earlier that day. The fire didn’t have a chance to get too bad, but the women were paralyzed with fear, and Alec doesn’t want to think about what would have happened if he didn’t show up on time. 

“How about you?” Alec asks conversationally, doodling more little swirls onto the pad of paper he was prepared to take notes in. 

“The usual. The coffee machine broke today, which is both a tragedy and a miracle, because the coffee in the station sucks,” Luke says easily, and Alec huffs out a short laugh. 

Talking to Luke makes Alec feel like he’s known the man his whole life, even though he hasn’t. Luke doesn’t push Alec to talk about anything he’s uncomfortable with, and even from their first few interactions Luke could tell Alec liked being kept in the loop. Alec is sure Luke doesn’t give him any information he’s not permitted to, but he appreciates the gesture. 

The stuff Luke is sharing with him paired with the cop car followings Alec is still doing has started to slowly but surely look like less of a puzzle. Between Luke’s determination and Alec’s Spiderman persona under his sleeve, there’s no way Blackwell won’t end up in jail. 

“So there have been more recent sightings of Blackwell,” Luke starts, and Alec can hear him filing through some papers. He hums nonchalantly, trying to downplay how he’s listening intently to every detail Luke gives. He sits up, positioning his pen on the paper. 

“He’s been spotted in some parts of the Bronx. A few people have contacted us and said they’ve seen a man frequently walking down East 149th Street that matches Blackwell’s description.” 

Alec writes all of this down as Luke continues to talk. 

“We have no way of connecting him to the Bronx. His records show that he’s lived in Fort Greene his whole life, and even his business ventures couldn’t have happened there. I’m trying to piece it all together, I guess. Alec,” Luke suddenly pauses, and Alec stops writing. “Did Hodge ever go to the Bronx? Does he have any relation there? It’s unusual for a wanted murder suspect to be so easily tracked to one location.” 

“Um,” Alec says, blinking a few times to try and remember. “I don’t think so.” 

Hodge had always stuck mostly to Brooklyn. He was always one of those New Yorkers that swore up and down that Manhattan was trash, and Downtown Brooklyn was as good as it gets. Thinking about details of Hodge’s life can get difficult for Alec. The feeling of inspecting parts of his life like he’s a research project makes Alec think of Hodge as more of a science experiment rather than a dead -

The pen cracks in his hands, ink slowly starting to spill onto the palm of Alec’s hand. 

“Fuck,” Alec says, quickly getting up and running to the sink to wash his hands, pressing his phone between his shoulder and his ear. 

He tries to remind himself that it’s okay that he needs time. That doesn’t make Alec weak, not when he’s experienced a loss similar to this before. 

“Alec? Everything alright?” Luke asks, and Alec notices he hasn’t said anything in a minute.

“Yeah, sorry,” Alec mutters, focusing on scrubbing the ink off his hands with dish soap. 

“When was the last time you hung out with your friends?” Luke asks out of nowhere. 

“I hung out with you and Magnus like a week ago. I saw my siblings two days ago,” Alec says, confused. “Why?”

“I meant  _ out _ somewhere. You’re in your twenties, Alec. When was the last time you went to a bar or a club and got drunk?”

“That’s never really been my scene,” Alec says, turning off the water when he thinks he’s gotten all of the ink off and reaching for a dish towel. 

“My point is, Alec, you’re hurting. I get it, trust me, I do,” Luke says, his voice suddenly a lot softer. “But take it from someone who knows all too well, if you don’t make time for the things you care about, you tend to forget why you’re fighting at all.” 

Alec momentarily thinks Luke can see right through him, see Spiderman, see all of Alec’s insecurities. Because Luke’s words hit deep, and Alec knows that he’s right. It’s not about going out and doing something crazy, it’s about being in an environment where your number one priority is to have a good time and let loose. 

“You’re right,” Alec admits, tossing the dish towel back on the counter when his hands are dry. “I’ll try to make plans within the next week. See my friends. Have a little fun.” 

“Good,” Luke says, and Alec can practically hear the smile in his voice. “Now, where was I…”

___

Alec enters the bar first, pushing the door open against a throng of people already inside, standing around, chatting with their drinks in hand. The music is pleasant and not too loud, giving the space a nice ambience. Jace pushes Alec forward, leaning up to talk in his ear.

“Can you see them?” he says.

Alec scans the bar for Magnus, glancing around over the different tables. He spots Magnus’ familiar figure at one of the corner tables, a bright smile on his face as he laughs at something one of his friends said. He’s sitting with Luke and Raphael, who have both got beers in front of them.

He nods, pointing in their direction. “Over there,” he says, leading them forwards. Izzy follows behind Jace, checking her makeup in a little compact mirror as they walk. 

Luke looks up first, spotting Alec and sending him a smile.

“Hey, Alec,” he says, holding up his beer in a toast. “Glad you could make it.”

Alec nods, managing to smile. “Luke, Raphael, this is my brother Jace and my sister Izzy.” While his siblings introduce themselves and talk politely with the two police officers, Alec gestures to the chair beside Magnus.

“Can I sit here?” he asks hopefully. 

Magnus grins at him. “I was hoping you would,” he says, eyes twinkling. Alec doesn’t quite know what to make of that, or the way his heart speeds up at the admission, but he sits down with a pleased smile all the same. 

Magnus takes a sip of the elaborate looking cocktail he has in front of him. “What are you drinking?” he asks Alec, eyes on him over the rim of the glass.

Alec shrugs easily. “Whatever Jace orders, I guess, since it’s his turn to buy.” Alec glances up at his brother, who’s talking with Luke, and rolls his eyes affectionately. “But he said no alcohol until his date gets here. I’ve never seen him this nervous over someone before.”

Magnus smiles knowingly, then cocks his head at Alec. “Why don’t you let me buy you a drink?” he asks.

Alec looks at his siblings, who aren’t paying him any attention, instead engrossed in conversation with Raphael and Luke. “Okay,” he shrugs, standing up and waiting for Magnus to get out of his seat. They make their way to the bar, chatting easily.

“I invited my friend Dot,” Magnus mentions, “I hope you don’t mind. I don’t know if she’s going to come, though, ‘cause I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

Alec frowns a little at the concern in Magnus’ tone. “Is she okay?” he asks, resting a hand on Magnus’ arm.

Magnus sighs. “I hope so,” he says, brow creasing. “We don’t see each other that often, but we text at least once a week. Maybe she’s just been busy recently.” He shakes his head. “I’ll give her a call tomorrow.”

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Alec says, smiling reassuringly, and Magnus nods. Alec can tell Magnus isn’t fully convinced, but he tries to take his mind off it by asking about Magnus’ day at work. 

Magnus’ smile brightens and he launches into a story about a new research project they’re thinking of starting, something that he’d been discussing with Izzy and another one of the interns, Maia, at lunch. Alec can’t help but smile when he thinks of Magnus and Izzy geeking out over science together.

Eventually, having fought their way to the bar, they make it back to the table with Alec’s drink. On Magnus’ recommendation, he had ordered a vodka sunrise, and he’s pleased to say it doesn’t actually taste too bad.

There’s a guy with curly brown hair and tortoise shell glasses that Alec’s never seen before sitting between Jace and Luke, and he raises his eyebrows at Magnus when they come over to the table.

“Magnus, hey! I didn’t know you were coming,” he says, grinning. He stands up to give Magnus a hug, which Magnus accepts with a half smile, leaning away from him a little. Alec catches Izzy’s eye as he takes his seat and they both stifle a laugh.

“This is Simon,” Jace says, with a pointed look at Alec. This must be Jace’s date, Alec realises - the one who’s been making Jace smile dopily when he gets a text or hum when he’s doing the laundry. Part of Alec wants to get back at Jace for all the times he’s teased him about Magnus, but Alec knows how much of a rock this guy has been to Jace since everything that happened to Hodge, so he just smiles warmly at him and holds his hand out.

“I’m Alec,” he says, as Simon shakes his hand, “Jace’s brother.” Simon grins at him, then his eyes flit to Jace and he sends him a thumbs up that’s probably supposed to be discreet, but he doesn’t quite manage it. 

Alec rolls his eyes. “You owe me a drink, by the way,” he say says to Jace, who pulls a face at him.

“Why can’t you just flirt with a rich man at the bar like Izzy does?” Jace complains. Izzy swats his chest in response.

Magnus sends a teasing glance Alec’s way. “It’s nice of you to say I’m rich,” he says to Jace, who’s mouth drops open before he snorts. Alec kicks him under the table and nudges Magnus with his shoulder playfully.

Izzy raises her eyebrows at the pair of them, and Alec knows he’s not going to escape her questioning later.

He’s infinitely grateful when a sudden chime of music from the TV in the bar starts playing, signalling breaking news. 

“Good evening, New York, from all of us at Channel 4 News. I’m your host, Lydia Branwell,” the newscaster reads. The hubbub in the bar quietens slightly, a number of the people turning towards the TV to watch. The newscaster’s blonde hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she’s wearing a bronze jacket. She looks familiar to Alec, as someone he’s met in real life, not just on TV, but he can’t put his finger on where he’s seen her before. “We have new footage of Spiderman, who was caught on camera this afternoon stopping a high speed car chase with his webbing.”

Luke whistles lowly, and Jace shares a glances with Alec, who takes a sip of his drink for something to do. He doesn’t want to lie to everyone around the table, and he’s worried that if he focuses too much on the news story, he’ll give something away.

“Can you believe this guy?” Raphael says, rolling his eyes, but Magnus shushes him with one hand, focussed on the broadcast. The newsreader continues on with the story, giving more details of the car chase as they get updates. Alec slouches lower in his chair, trying to avoid looking at anyone by focussing on the woman on the screen and trying to remember where he’s seen her before.

Jace kicks him under the table and nods towards the TV, so Alec pulls a face back at him. Jace has got to be the least subtle person he knows.

"Yeah, sure,” Raphael is muttering on the other side of the table, “I bet the internet makes him out to look like some kind of masked hero or something."

Just then, the camera zooms out, showing Lydia Branwell sitting on a couch opposite a man in a suit. She’s got some note cards in front of her, but they don’t hide her pregnant belly, and, with a jolt, Alec realises where he met her.

The woman who was getting mugged, the one he walked to the subway station. 

“With me now is Dr Aldertree from the Idris Corporation, a company specialising in scientific advancements,” Lydia says from the TV. Izzy perks up at the mention of one of her superior colleagues, leaning forward with her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her fingers.

“Dr Aldertree, people are saying that this man has abilities that no human is born with, or could even develop through training. There’s speculation that he underwent some kind of gene therapy could have led to alteration or mutation of his body chemistry, causing him to get these new abilities. I mean, people are calling him ‘Spiderman’! Is it possible he could have taken on the abilities of a spider?”

Dr Aldertree launches into some explanation of how it isn’t possible for Spiderman to have contracted any kind of non-human abilities from a spider, and that the worst that could have happened to him was having a bad reaction to a spider bite. 

A bad reaction. Alec can think of other ways to describe what happened to him.

Knowing that Aldertree works at Idris Corp, he’s not entirely surprised that he’s selling the newsreader some story about how the results of gene therapy aren’t that advanced yet. He suspects Valentine doesn’t want anyone to know about his shady spider room.

Raphael points a finger at Magnus. 

“Looks like they didn’t ask you to be on TV for Idris,” he says, a sardonic edge to his voice. Magnus huffs and rolls his eyes. Raphael’s expression changes to one of irritation. “Probably because they know that if anyone with half a brain looked into this Spiderman, they’d see he’s just a kid who thinks he’s a hero, running around the city causing trouble for everyone.”

Alec bristles, but he tries not to let it show. He catches Jace sending Raphael a dirty look, and takes a sip of his cocktail to hide his real feelings.

“It kinda seems to me like he’s trying to stop trouble,” Jace says, looking directly at Raphael.

Raphael snorts. “He stops the bad guys, maybe,” he says, with a lopsided shrug, “then leaves the cops - the  _ real  _ officers of the law - to clear up the mess he leaves behind. He’s a menace.”

Alec pouts a little, playing with the stem of his glass and trying to appear unaffected as he speaks. “Well, I mean, isn’t he doing most of your job for you? He can’t do everything. He’s only one guy and you have the entire NYPD behind you.”

“Most of our job?” Raphael repeats incredulously. “What do you think we do all day, Alec? Sit around eating donuts, with our fingers up our asses?”

“Raphael,” Magnus bites out, sending him a look. Raphael pulls a face right back at him.

“Surprise, surprise, you’re on his side,” he says, which Alec doesn’t quite know what to make of. He and Magnus are friends, sure, but Magnus has known Raphael since he was seven years old, so surely he’d take Raphael’s side in any argument that actually had any substance?

Magnus rolls his eyes. “From what I’ve seen, Spiderman leaves you criminals to clear up,” he says. “If you caught them yourselves, you’d still have to do the paperwork, so what difference does it make who apprehends them? Unless, of course,” he adds, raising his cocktail glass to his lips with a smile, “you’re just jealous of him.”

Raphael scoffs. “Jealous?” he asks. “He’s a vigilante. What happens when he changes his mind about who the bad guys are and starts attacking innocent people? Luke, back me up here.”

Luke just holds up his hands with a grin. “Don’t drag me into this,” he says, and Raphael sends him a betrayed glare.

“He’s saving the city,” Magnus says, leaning forward. There’s clear admiration in his voice when he says, “He’s a  _ hero _ .”

Alec is fairly sure Raphael comes back with some scathing response, but he’s a little preoccupied by the way Magnus’ face lights up as he talks about Spiderman and the reverent way he had said that he thought Spidey was a hero. 

“Nah,” Jace says, breaking into Alec’s thoughts, “I agree with Magnus. He’s a hero, and he’s a hero with a damn good spandex suit, too.” 

His lips twitch as he takes a sip of his beer and Alec shoots him a look of warning. He feels someone watching him and catches Izzy’s dark brown eyes darting between the two of them, her brow furrowed in the way it does when she’s working out some complicated science problem. 

Simon nods sagely. “He looks like he came right out of a Marvel comic in the suit,” he says.

Magnus smooths his finger over the rim of his glass. “I’d be more interested to know what he looks like  _ out _ of the suit,” he muses.

Alec just about spontaneously combusts right there and then, and Jace almost chokes on his beer when he starts laughing. 

“Come on, Jace,” Izzy chimes in, a calculating glint in her eye, “tell us about this suit. You bought a load of spandex from that shop on Bleeker Street for Halloween last year, didn’t you?”

Alec and Jace share a momentary glance. With a sinking feeling, Alec realises they’ve probably been caught by Izzy, because there’s no way she actually wants to listen to Jace go on a fashion rant if she can help it.

“No one wants to hear Jace talk about spandex, Iz,” Alec says, rolling his eyes for good measure. He casts about quickly for something to change the topic to, and remembers Luke mentioning he was planning to drive up to Boston this weekend to see his sister. “Luke, have you finished planning your trip this weekend yet?”

The diversion is less than subtle, but it works, and Luke starts telling them about his plans with his family for the weekend. Apparently his wife and step-daughter are going too, which sets Simon off talking about the time they all went camping together when he and Luke’s step-daughter were kids.

Soon, they’re all swapping stories from their childhood, sharing memories. It helps that Magnus and Raphael have known each other a long time, because, like the Lightwoods, they both have their fair share of embarrassing stories to tell about the other.

Alec begins to relax, thinking he might have escaped without Izzy picking up on his secret. The conversation rolls on for about an hour before she announces that she’s going to the bar to get them all a round of shots. When she stands up, she gestures wildly to the bar with her arm, knocking over her empty wine glass. 

Alec’s hand darts out to catch it before it can hit the ground, and from the wide-eyed look his sister sends him, he knows he’s been found out.

Izzy just purses her lips and heads to the bar, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder. Alec watches her go warily, before his attention is distracted by Magnus placing his hand on Alec’s arm and asking him something.

By the time Izzy has returned with a tray of shots for them all, it’s late enough that the dance floor in the bar has started to get crowded. Jace and Simon are some of the first people up, and when Simon starts doing air guitar solos to the songs, Jace just watches him fondly, catching Simon’s waist and pulling him closer.

Alec watches them and smiles, happy his brother is happy.

The four left at the table - Raphael, Luke, Magnus and Alec - throw back the shots from Izzy. She slams hers down first, barely wincing, and doesn’t even look at Alec.

“You people are pathetic,” she says, grinning, and the three who’ve never got drunk with Izzy before send her impressed glances. Before she can say anything else, Jace bounds up to them, smacks a kiss to Izzy’s cheek, and pulls her onto the dancefloor. She yanks Luke and Raphael along with her, leaving Magnus and Alec standing alone at their table.

“I’m glad the three of you are having a good time,” Magnus says to Alec, watching his friends dance with a broad smile. Luke seems to be teaching them some complicated dance move, which the others are eagerly repeating. “You deserve it.”

Alec looks away from the group to Magnus. They’re very close to each other, and the strobe lights in the bar paint Magnus’ face in planes of light and dark. He looks beautiful, ethereal, and Alec can hardly breathe.

“Dance with me?” he asks, holding out his hand.

Magnus glances down at it, then back up at Alec, his lips parted slightly. Then he smiles and curls his fingers around Alec’s, and the two of them head to the dancefloor to join their friends.

___

The next morning, Alec can barely peel his eyes open, he feels so grim. It takes him a good half an hour of gingerly sipping water and drifting in and out of sleep before he can even think about getting up from the couch - he remembers vague flashes of insisting Izzy should take his bed the night before, but now, with his hand thrown dramatically over his eyes, no matter how much he loves his sister he really regrets his choices.

He gropes around on the floor for his phone, accidentally knocking into it with his uncooperative fingers and pushing it out of reach. With a frustrated noise, he shoots a web at it to pull it closer to him, and he’s just managed to type in his passcode correctly when someone in the room clears their throat.

“I knew it,” Izzy says, sounding both smug and put out.

Alec sits up immediately at her voice, throwing his legs over the side of the couch, and then the room starts spinning so he presses the heels of his palms into his eyes until he feels less likely to throw up.

“Hey, Iz,” he says, voice hoarse from shouting over the music the night before. He looks up at her forlornly, feeling like shit both because he’s lied to his sister and because of his hangover.

She raises an unimpressed eyebrow as she regards him, then heads towards the kitchen. “Bacon and eggs okay?” she asks, starting to prepare it without waiting for an answer. Alec gulps down some more water while he watches her.

“What about Jace?” Alec asks.

Izzy shrugs. “Simon came back here with us yesterday,” she says easily. “I knocked for them, but I didn’t get an answer.”

Alec hums, lying back down on the couch. He pillows his head on his arms and closes his eyes. The sounds of Izzy bustling about the kitchen are comforting, and it makes him feel safe enough to bring up the elephant in the room.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he says softly. 

Izzy doesn’t reply, but he hears her stop searching in the cutlery drawer momentarily. 

“You should be,” she says, and although her tone is harsh he can hear the hurt underneath.

Alec sighs and forces himself up from the couch. He closes his eyes against the giddiness when he stands and makes his way through to the kitchen. When he tries to talk to Izzy, she gets angry, angrier than Alec’s ever seen her, and he watches the frustration she’s probably held in for weeks about Hodge boil over. 

Izzy voices the same concerns as Jace did, and Alec lets her get mad, lets her yell at him for being reckless and stupid. When he sees tears well up in her eyes, his big brother mode instantly kicks in and he pulls her into his arms, letting her hit his chest with her fists before hugging him back tightly. 

She pulls away from him with a weak smile after a while, and Alec knows that, right now, they’re okay. Izzy wipes her eyes and takes a couple of breaths, then slowly sets about cooking again. 

Alec leans against the kitchen counter, nursing another glass of water, and watches her cook. While she moves around the kitchen, she fills Alec in on the blanks of last night. He remembers most of the time they spent the bar, but after that, things are kind of a blur.

Izzy sends him a knowing look while she stirs eggs for them. “You looked like you were getting pretty close with Magnus, yesterday,” she says.

Alec rolls his eyes, but he can’t help smiling. “Shut up,” he says plaintively, clutching his glass tighter. “I’m hungover, it’s not fair for you to pick on me.”

Izzy laughs brightly, the sound warming Alec through. Her eyes twinkle in the mid afternoon sunlight. 

“Does Magnus know?” she asks, sounding thoughtful.

Alec shakes his head, taking the cutlery Izzy had left out on the countertop and lugging himself over to the table to set it. “Do you think I should tell him?”

Izzy clicks her tongue. “Yeah,” she decides, after a pause. “I think he has a crush on Spiderman, actually.”

Alec blushes, despite the fact that it’s clear Magnus has a crush on Spiderman and not Alec. 

“Maybe,” Alec shrugs, trying to act nonchalant. Then, with his usual dryness, “You think he’d want to meet New York’s newest hero?”

Izzy nods. “Absolutely.” 

She finishes cooking and plates up the food. Alec falls onto one of the kitchen chairs and smiles gratefully up at Izzy when she plonks a plate of breakfast in front of him. She regards him for a moment, eyes narrowed, and he catches her hand.

“Izzy,” he says, “I am really sorry I didn’t tell you.”

She sends him a small smile, one side of her mouth quirking upwards, then presses a kiss to his hair. “I forgive you,” she says. “It’s actually pretty cool, don’t you think?”

Izzy takes her own seat and picks up her knife and fork. “Did it wear off at first? How long do the powers last? How did your body react initially?”

Alec smiles at her excitable tone, knowing that as angry and worried as she’s rightfully been, his sister will have been dying to find out what it was like from a scientific point of view. He tells her all about waking up to the spider bite, then going through all the weird shit that had happened, like the subway ride and learning to swing on the ropes of webbing. 

Her eyes go wide and she sits up in her chair when he explains about his new hyper senses, and she asks, almost a little shyly, if she’d maybe be able to do some tests to see how far he can push his powers. He nods as enthusiastically as can, still feeling rough, and tells her to just name the time and place.

Like with Jace, he leaves out everything about Valentine and Idris Corp and the real way he got bitten. Maybe Jace would have agreed it was shady as fuck and left it at that, but Alec can’t bring himself to shatter Izzy’s dream of working at Idris Corp.

He’s let her down enough as it is. 

Alec tries to push away the dark thoughts of his failure and lets himself be drawn into hearing Izzy talk about his new powers. He hadn’t realised how much of a burden keeping this secret from her was, and now he feels physically lighter. 

It’s a long time since he and Izzy have spent time together, just the two of them, talking - in fact, the last time he remembers having a proper conversation with her was when he met her for lunch all those weeks ago. The air between them is so comfortable and relaxed now that talking is easy, and the two of them spend the rest of the afternoon laughing. 

___

Alec shoots a web and cruises through the streets of New York City, occasionally looking down at the people below him, scanning to make sure there isn’t an immediate danger around. 

He notices, now, how people gasp and look up whenever he’s flying by. Tourists have started to recognize him, and when he passes by some of the New York skyscrapers, people in their offices will stop and try and wave at him. 

It almost feels like it’s some sort of celebrity status, but he can go out into the world without the mask, and no one will think much of him when he’s just Alec Lightwood. 

It’s like a weird version of Hannah Montana. Except Hannah Montana was a pop singer, and Alec beats up bad guys. 

Alec stops somewhere along the Highline and takes a breather in one of the quieter areas. His stomach growls and Alec makes a face. He has another three hours of patrolling tonight at least, so he decides to go to a nearby deli and pick up a BLT. 

He goes to get his webbed up backpack that’s located just a block away, and throws it over his Spiderman suit, beginning to walk down the quieter street. 

Alec finds a small corner deli and walks in, browsing the area casually. He picks up a bag of Doritos, then goes to the cashier to ask for his BLT. The cashier looks up when Alec approaches, and a smile instantly lights up his face.

“You’re Spiderman! Oh dude, this is awesome, my kids and I love you!” the man says enthusiastically. He unzips his jacket and reveals a dark red t-shirt with Spiderman’s logo on it. 

The man can’t tell, but underneath the mask Alec is smiling as he looks at the shirt. It’s almost too much, his rise to fame, and how his superhero name is so well known. 

“Thank you,” Alec says in a voice an octave lower than his own as he drops the bag of Doritos on the counter. “Could I get a BLT, please?” 

“Sure thing, kid,” the cashier says, shouting the order to someone in the back. 

Alec goes to take out his wallet when the man stops him. 

“On the house,” the cashier says with a smile. “I’m more than happy to provide BLTs for New York’s favorite hero.” 

Alec doesn’t really know what to say to that, his heart melting at the kindness from a stranger. He pulls out his wallet anyway and takes out a ten dollar bill, passing it to the man. 

“A tip, then,” Alec says, and the guy shakes his head with a smile, accepting the money. 

“You save lives and give good tips? What are you, half angel?” the cashier jokes, and Alec lets out a short laugh. 

They chat for another minute, and Alec even signs ‘Spiderman’ on a poster of himself swinging on webs through the city. It all feels a little surreal, and as he leaves the deli some time later with his dinner in tow, he feels like his eyes have been opened. 

He sees it now. 

There, on a wall, is some graffiti of the Spiderman symbol. Down the block, Alec can spot a street vendor, and instead of selling knock off Gucci purses, they’re selling t-shirts and hats with his name on it. People  _ like _ him, and genuinely believe he’s making a difference. 

Even if Spiderman started as a revenge plot, it feels like so much more now. As a dark haired little boy and his mom purchase some Spiderman merch, Alec can see what Spiderman gives some people. 

Hope.

___

The Idris Corp building is beautiful in the nighttime. It has an almost ethereal glow to it, like a beacon of light. Like a piece of Heaven fallen to the Earth. 

Alec swings his legs back and forth, admiring the building from the rooftop he’s on. He can hear thunder in the distance and has felt a drop or two of rain since he first sat down ten minutes ago.

It’s rather late, nearing around 10 pm. Magnus had texted him earlier to say that Valentine was making them work overtime for a deadline, so he was coming in for 8 am and leaving late at night.  

For the past few days, ever since he jokingly brought it up to Izzy, Alec hasn’t been able to shake the idea of introducing himself to Magnus as Spiderman, just to make him happy. Maybe there’s also a small part of him that wants to see if Magnus’ affections are really only for the masked superhero, too. 

He brought a single umbrella, too, because when he checked the weather it said it was gonna rain, and he knows Magnus broke his a week ago and hasn’t had time to buy a new one. Spiderman might not know Magnus, but Alec does. 

A minute later, the rain picks up, and Alec spots Magnus’ familiar form walking through the doors of Idris Corp. 

Alec immediately stands up and pulls his mask on, watching Magnus hold his bag over his head to try and avoid the rain. He bites on his lip to hide his smile and shoots a web onto a nearby building when Magnus is in the position Alec wants him to be. Alec swings down, landing silently on the corner Magnus just turned. 

He wants to make a grand entrance. This is  _ Spiderman _ Magnus is meeting, not just anybody, and he wants to make a good impression. Magnus hurries on down the street, unaware of Alec behind him, and Alec doesn’t want to lose sight of him in the rain so he follows quickly. He doesn’t see the garbage can on his left and walks straight into it, causing a loud clatter to reverberate through the quiet street.

In the time it takes Magnus to turn around, searching curiously for the source of the noise, Alec has swung up onto a fire escape soundlessly, crouching out of view. 

Fuck. Why can’t he be smooth for  _ once _ in his life? 

Alec jumps to the fire escape on the next building along so he’s just ahead of where Magnus stopped to look for who made the noise, then he descends down on one of his webs and drops easily to the ground. When Magnus turns around, ready to start walking again, he spots Alec immediately, standing there as Spiderman. Magnus’ jaw drops momentarily. 

“Special delivery,” Alec says, holding out the umbrella with one hand and already mentally kicking himself for the stupid line. He hopes the rain beating down around them will disguise his voice, because he can’t keep up a fake voice for an entire conversation with Magnus. 

Magnus blinks, peering at him through the rain, a confused smile lighting up his face. “Spiderman,” he says, a little dazed. “What are you doing here?” 

Alec looks down at the umbrella and back at Magnus. Magnus gets the hint, his eyebrows going up. 

“All the people in the city you could be saving right now and you’re here to give me an umbrella?” he teases, even as he’s reaching out to take it.

Alec shrugs, wishing he wasn’t so tongue tied. Then he realises that, although he’s putting a lot of importance on this encounter, Magnus has no clue it’s him. With the mask on, Alec is a total stranger. 

“Why me?” Magnus asks, his tone softer as he takes the umbrella, inspecting it for a moment and then looking back up at Alec. 

“Your hair looks nice,” Alec says, the first honest truth that comes to mind. “I wouldn’t want the rain to ruin it.”

Magnus full out laughs at that, and Alec considers it a win on his part, standing up a little bit straighter. Magnus looks him over once, and then twice, and Alec makes sure to stick his chest out a little more under his scrutinizing gaze. 

There’s a pregnant pause, and Magnus tilts his head to the side. Alec has a strange feeling that Magnus knows something he doesn’t. 

“Well, I should go,” Alec says, taking a step back and ready to count this entire conversation as a fail and never to think about it again. He shoots a web at a building not too far and jerks himself up as the rain starts beating down faster. 

Thank God for his spidey senses, because just faintly, he hears Magnus’ voice saying, “Wait.” 

Alec sticks to the wall and peers down at Magnus, watching him turn in a circle trying to find Alec, the umbrella still in his hand. Curiosity gets the better of Alec and he shoots a new web on the fire escape, pulling himself to it and turning, slowly lowering himself upside down right behind Magnus. 

“Do you not know how to use an umbrella?” Alec asks playfully, and Magnus turns to face him, huffing. 

“I was gonna say thank you before you just flung yourself away,” Magnus says. His hair is falling slowly over his eyes due to the rain, and Alec feels his heart speed up from how beautiful he looks under the dim streetlamps. 

“Sorry,” Alec laughs softly, and Magnus just smiles. 

“You’re a hero, Spiderman. Has anyone you’ve helped ever thanked you properly?” Magnus ponders, taking a step closer to Alec. 

Alec gulps, looking Magnus’ face up and down, unsure what he’s aiming for here. 

“Not everyone thinks I’m a hero,” Alec replies, entranced by Magnus’ eyes in the lamplight. 

“Well, I do,” Magnus says, moving even closer, his eyes soft but determined as he reaches for the end of Alec’s Spiderman mask. 

“Wait,” Alec says gently, hardly able to breathe. He’s so transfixed by how beautiful Magnus is and the tiny distance between them. His head is telling him to get out of this situation before Magnus accidentally unveils the truth, but his heart knows what’s about to happen next and flips in eager anticipation. 

Magnus seems to understand the unspoken request Alec is making and hesitates, just for a moment, before hooking his fingers around Alec’s mask and tugging it down over his chin and mouth, just until it hits his nose. 

Alec’s breath catches, feeling the warm touch of Magnus’ fingers ghosting against his skin. His pulse is racing, nerves and excitement erupting in his chest in equal parts.

Magnus is about to kiss him for the first time. His brain repeats it on a loop, not letting it sink in. Alec can hardly believe the night has ended up like this, and his eyes zero in on Magnus’ lips as Magnus leans in.

“Can I kiss you?” Magnus asks, nothing more than a whisper, but this close and with his hyper senses, Alec hears it clear as day. 

He nods, not trusting his voice, and Magnus smiles. He presses his lips to Alec’s as the rain falls around them, and all Alec can focus on is how long he’s spent thinking about this moment. 

Magnus’ movements are soft but sure as he cups Alec’s head gently, kissing him a little deeper. The kiss is passionate yet tender, and it shakes Alec to his core in the best way possible. 

All too soon, Magnus is pulling away. Alec tries chasing his lips, but he’s still dangling on a web. He feels Magnus’ lips quirk up against his, and then Magnus is tugging the mask up Alec’s face, putting it back in place. 

“Glad I could do my duty for my city,” Magnus says breathlessly, taking a small step back. “But I can’t let it go too far. I’m kind of ridiculously into my tall and rather grumpy neighbor.” 

Alec’s mind short circuits, repeating the last thing Magnus said in his head. Alec knows the only two other people that live on their floor: one is an old woman and the other is a mother with two newborn twins, so that -

That can only mean one thing.

“Thanks anyway, Spidey,” Magnus says, finally opening up the umbrella despite him already being soaking wet. 

Alec lets one hand release the webbing holding him up shakily and shoots another web at a further building and lets it tug him away, away from Magnus and his feather light kisses. 

Alec hears Magnus chuckling happily as he soars away from him, and when Alec lands on top of a random skyscraper, he holds his head, unable to help the smile spreading onto his face. 

He just kissed Magnus as Spiderman, but Magnus has a crush on  _ Alec. _

And Alec, feeling like he has the confidence boost he needs, is finally gonna do something about it. 

___

_ Alec holds the pillow close to his chest, playing with a strand thread, tears welling in his eyes. He can’t help but think that there’s something wrong with him. Everything went downhill today, and all he wants to do is sleep for the next three years and never have to go to school and face Brody ever again.  _

_ A soft knock on the door startles him, and he wipes the tears in his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, trying to look more composed.  _

_ “Yeah?” he calls, trying to keep his voice steady.  _

_ “Hey,” Izzy says as she walks in, holding a piece of paper with a pencil tucked behind her ear. “Could you help me with this math problem? Mr Gars didn’t explain this well in class and I’m confused.”  _

_ Alec goes to stand up, when Izzy, the perceptive one that she is, notices the tears stains on Alec’s sleeve.  _

_ “Alec?” Izzy asks, her voice laced with concern. “What’s wrong?”  _

_ “Nothing,” Alec says immediately. There’s no reason to burden his younger sister with his problems, especially when he feels ashamed for having them in the first place.  _

_ But he can’t help it. It feels like a part of his identity is lost, but he pushes it down every time. Alec can’t have people know. He can’t imagine what the bullies at school would say to him if he told them he likes - _

_ “Why are you lying?” Izzy asks, sitting next to him on his bed. Her eyes are full of worry, mostly due to the fact that Alec never lies to her. She can read him so easily, and he wonders offhandedly if she’d figured it out by now.  _

_ “It’s stupid,” Alec says, his hair flopping in front of his eyes as he averts his gaze.  _

_ “I bet it’s not,” Izzy says, and Alec kind of hates how smart she is for a 12 year old.  _

_ Alec looks up at her, and the fear clawing at his chest is suffocating. What if she laughs at him? What if she thinks he’s weird? What if she stops loving him because of who he loves? _

_ Looking into her big brown eyes, he wants to think that she’d never judge him. But how is he to know? _

_ “I like someone at school,” Alec says, his shoulders hunched. “I don’t think they like me back.”  _

_ “Why wouldn’t they like you back?” Izzy asks, and Alec smiles a little despite himself at how she says the first thing that comes to mind.  _

_ “I just know,” Alec says a little self deprecating.  _

_ “Well, did you tell her you liked her?” Izzy asks, maneuvering herself to sit cross legged.  _

_ Alec hesitates then, not feeling brave enough to correct her pronouns. Instead, he looks down, trying to figure out a quick way out of this situation.  _

_ “Alec? You’re scaring me,” Izzy says and Alec frowns.  _

_ “It’s a - it’s a him,” Alec whispers after a moment, picking on the pillow thread again. “I don’t like girls like that, Iz.”  _

_ It’s momentarily quiet, and Alec doesn’t dare look up. He can’t look at Izzy’s face, he’s terrified he’ll find disgust there if he does.  _

_ “Okay, why doesn’t he like you back?” Izzy asks.  _

_ Alec blinks, before looking up at her. She’s still sitting there with the same genuine curiosity from before, even when she thought he liked a girl.  _

_ “Because he likes girls,” Alec says honestly, his stomach in a knot. _

_ “Hm,” Izzy says, putting her finger on her chin. “How do you know that?”  _

_ “I heard him,” Alec says, finding the confidence to fully tell Izzy his story. “He said - said that he saw two men holding hands walking down the street the other day and thought it was gross and disgusting.” _

_ “Alec -” _

_ “I thought he was a good friend,” Alec says, the tears welling up again in his eyes. “But now - now it makes me feel like  _ I’m _ -” _

_ “Alec,” Izzy says more firmly, taking Alec’s hand. “That’s not a nice thing for him to say.”  _

_ Alec just looks at her, his lower lip quivering.  _

_ “He’s a jerk,” Izzy says. “You shouldn’t listen to him.” _

_ “I guess,” Alec says.  _

_ “How long have you known? That you’re - you know,” Izzy asks, tilting her head to the side.  _

_ “For ages,” Alec breathes out, feeling a little bit of the weight lifting off of his shoulders. “I’ve been wanting to tell you and Hodge and Jace and Max for so long now, but then Brody went and said those things and I - I don’t know.”  _

_ “Forget what Brody said, Alec,” Izzy says with a small huff. “I’ll beat him up if I have to. He doesn’t deserve you anyway.”  _

_ Alec shrugs a shoulder. “What if the rest of the world reacts like this when I tell people that I like - that I’m gay?”  _

_ Saying the word makes relief flood through Alec’s body. It makes him feel comfortable with who he is, like he doesn’t doubt it anymore.  _

_ “I don’t know what the rest of the world is like, Alec,” Izzy says, far too wise for her age. “But us - me, Hodge, Jace, and Max - we’re going to love you no matter what. And Alec, you’re gonna be with someone someday who likes every part of you. Even the part of you that likes mushrooms, because they’re yucky.”  _

_ Alec huffs out a laugh, the tears in his eyes now there for an entirely different reason.  _

_ “One day you’ll meet someone that’ll love you, heart and soul.” Izzy smiles at him, her braces on full display.  _

_ “Thanks, Iz,” Alec says, his voice thick with emotion as he pulls her into a tight hug.  _

_ Later that week, when all the Lightwoods and Hodge are sitting around the dinner table eating pizza, Alec tells everyone that he thinks he’s gay. When Hodge pats him on the back and smiles at him, and Alec can feel all the accepting glances around the table, he can’t help but smile brightly.  _

___

Alec walks in through the front door to the apartment, trying to shut it behind him as quietly as possible. He creeps through to his bedroom, pushing the door ajar and quickly stripping out of his wet Spiderman suit, changing into the first dry clothes he can find.

“Alec?” Jace’s voice calls. “Was that you?”

“Yeah,” he replies, pulling a towel off his radiator and scrubbing it over his hair. “Just a sec!”

Checking his reflection quickly before he leaves, he heads out into the living room. Izzy is curled up in the armchair with a blanket, hogging a bowl of popcorn, her hair done in two French braids. Jace and Simon are lying on the couch together, feet tangled up and peeking out from under their blanket. 

“Sorry I’m late,” Alec says, dropping a kiss to Izzy’s forehead as he passes her by. “Anyone want a drink?”

A chorus of  _ no _ s meet his question, so he just grabs a beer for himself. When he goes back to the living room, Jace and Simon have left the couch free and are arranging some cushions on the blanket on the floor.

“Where were you?” Izzy asks curiously, shovelling some popcorn into her mouth. Alec blinks at her, brain scrambling around for an answer while he sits down.

“I just stopped at the store,” he says, shrugging, and reaches out for some popcorn. Izzy eyes him suspiciously for a moment, then turns back to the TV. “What are we watching?”

“We didn’t start the movie yet,” Jace says, shuffling on the couch so he can rest his head on Simon’s shoulder. “Since you and Magnus were both gonna be late, there was no point.”

“When’s he getting here?” Alec asks, trying to sound like he’s not too bothered about finding out, but failing, if Izzy’s snort of laughter is anything to go by. 

“Raphael texted me to say Magnus just stopped by his to pick him up,” Simon says. “They’ll be here in fifteen minutes, but Magnus needs to get changed first.”

Alec hums. He turns his gaze back to the TV, but he’s looking at it without watching, his mind on the kiss he’d shared with Magnus earlier. He can’t stop replaying it in his mind, getting lost in remembering the way Magnus had gently cupped his face and the warmth of his breath against Alec’s skin.

He’s startled out of his thoughts by the doorbell ringing, and when he looks around at his siblings - both comfortable and cosy under their blankets - he realises it’s up to him to greet the guests.

Magnus is tugging at his shirt sleeves when Alec opens the door, Raphael standing behind him, watching him with amusement in his eyes. Alec catches his breath when he sees Magnus, feeling the ghost of Magnus’ lips against his own. 

“Hey,” Alec says, smiling immediately. 

Magnus’ eyes light up on seeing him. “Alexander,” he greets. “Sorry for being late.”

Alec stands by to let Magnus and Raphael in, smiling a little awkwardly at Raphael as passes him. He’s pretty sure Raphael hates him for defending Spiderman, but he’s Magnus’ friend, so Alec wants to make things right between them.

He can hear the others greeting Magnus and Raphael, so he heads through to the living room, asking if either of them want a drink. When he gets back with two beers, Magnus is in the middle of explaining that he got caught in the rain, but he doesn’t say anything more. 

Their fingers brush when Alec hands him his beer, their eyes meeting with a spark. Alec has to remind himself that Magnus didn’t know who Spidey really was when he kissed him earlier, and forces himself to try and act natural as he sits down next to Magnus. 

Raphael makes an irritated noise from the end of the couch. “Are you actually gonna tell me what you were doing now?” he asks Magnus. Then he turns to the others in the room. “He said he wanted to tell me in front of everybody -”

“Ignore him,” Magnus says, sitting up more on the couch. “Okay, so, this is a secret,” he says in a hushed, excited tone, “but guess who just kissed the famous Spiderman?”

Jace chokes on his beer, spluttering from the floor, and Simon hits him on the back a couple of times. “Wait, you kissed Spiderman?” Jace asks hoarsely, still coughing.

Magnus fiddles with his ear cuff, badly hiding a smile. Beside Magnus, Raphael looks like he’s suffering, and takes a long swig of his beer before speaking. 

“How the fuck did you manage that?” he asks.

Magnus sends him a look. “Raph, I’m pretty used to people being into me,” he says matter of factly. 

“How did you know he’s into you?” Izzy asks, subtly glancing at Alec. 

A smile spreads across Magnus’ face. “It’s not that hard to tell when someone’s into you,” he says smugly. “And, besides, no straight man wears that much spandex.”

Jace’s eyes go wide and then he starts laughing, Simon chuckling along bemusedly beside him. Izzy just catches Alec’s eye and smiles, and Alec can’t help smiling back at her. 

“How was it?” Izzy asks Magnus, wiggling her eyebrows.

Magnus smirks at her. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” he says loftily, fiddling with his ear cuff again. 

“Are you gonna see him again?” Simon asks, sounding interested. Raphael groans.

“I hope not,” he mutters into his beer, “or I will never hear the end of it.”

Magnus ignores him. “No,” he sighs dramatically, “It was just a one time thing.” He glances around the room at all of them, lingering on Alec. He looks down at his drink with a soft smile. “I’m a little crazy about someone else, at the moment, anyway.”

Izzy smiles at him. Now that Magnus has shared his news, he settles back against the couch cushions. 

Jace starts the movie, and Alec tries not to think too hard about the fact that Magnus is pressed up against his side, even though there’s more than enough room on the couch. Having Magnus so close to him just makes Alec want to tell Magnus he’s falling in love with him even more, but he knows that now isn’t the right time. Resolving to come up with a plan to tell Magnus, he settles into watching the movie, his mind still drifting to the kiss from earlier.

___

Valentine fixes his suit, sitting up a little straighter. He double checks that everything on his desk is polished and in its proper places, trying to busy himself. His top investor is coming today to discuss their business ventures going forward, and Valentine is hoping that he’s a smart enough man to want to invest more in Idris Corp and their research. 

He hears footsteps approaching the door to his office and he stands. 

“Mr Morgenstern,” his guest says, and Valentine flashes him the most charming smile he can muster, opening his arms wide to welcome him. 

“Asmodeus Neraka,” Valentine says with a huge grin, walking up to shake Asmodeus’ hand. “The man, the myth, the legend.” 

Asmodeus shakes his hand in a firm grip, and Valentine makes sure the smile he has on his face doesn’t fade. 

“Please, have a seat,” Valentine says, gesturing to the chair in the room. “Would you like anything to drink? I have some sparkling rose and -” 

“Sadly, my visit is a brief one,” Asmodeus says abruptly, holding up a hand to stop Valentine. 

“Oh?” Valentine says, wiggling his eyebrows. “I love when my investors are confident in Idris. It means you’re a man of good taste.” 

“Valentine, we’re shutting down the genetics facility at Idris,” Asmodeus says curtly, his face emotionless. Valentine’s smile falls and he narrows his eyes, his expression cold. 

“That’s not your call,” Valentine says, his hands balling into fists on his sides as he practically vibrates with rage. 

The  _ nerve _ of this man.

“Actually, it is,” Asmodeus says, tilting his chin up. “I was, as you recall, the chief investor in the genetic department. I was also the  _ only _ investor, and if I want to pull my money out of your little failure of a project, then I will do so.” 

“How dare you -” Valentine starts, ready to throw a fit. 

“You’re getting sloppy, Valentine. You have too many loose ends to tie up, and while I’m a man who understands that business can get messy, this investment isn’t worth my time. I’m not making any money back,” Asmodeus’ gaze is harsh and steel-like. “Am I making myself clear?” 

“Crystal,” Valentine says through his teeth. 

Asmodeus hums, and gets ready to leave before turning and tilting his head to the side. 

“Oh, and next time you decide to hire a hitman to murder someone, can you make sure it runs more smoothly? It’s not that hard to figure out that Samuel Blackwell bears the Circle mark,” Asmodeus says, oddly calm for someone who admitted to knowing that Valentine has gotten people killed. “I’ll give you till the end of the month to clear out the genetics lab and figure out something else. Goodbye, Valentine.”

And with that, Asmodeus walks out, leaving Valentine shaking in the middle of his office. Once the door closes behind Asmodeus, Valentine screams at the top of his lungs, stomping his foot multiple times in rage. 

How  _ dare _ Asmodeus threaten Valentine’s life work? 

Everything Valentine has ever done in his life has been to perfect his genetic research. He founded this fucking company for it. He’s killed people for it. And he will not let Asmodeus Neraka waltz in and take it all away from him. 

Like a rabid animal, Valentine slides his hands across his desk, wiping it clean and making everything fall messily to the ground. He’s breathing heavily now, anger pulsing through him like fuel. 

Valentine goes behind his desk and forces his top drawer open, pulling out a slick metallic grey case. He was going to show this to Asmodeus today, to show how far they’ve come in their research. With Magnus’ new formula, Valentine has managed to upgrade the serum, and it’s an untested virgin serum. 

“My angel blood,” Valentine says quietly, pulling up the sleeve of his suit. 

Valentine has waited too long for this for Asmodeus to rip it out of his hands. 

Within one swift motion, Valentine takes the syringe and plunges it in the crook of his elbow, shouting in pain as he feels the serum invade his body. He starts to laugh, then, looking at his arm as he sees the muscles grow rapidly. He keeps laughing, watching his lifelong research work right before his eyes. 

He feels a little uneasy, a deep churning in his stomach, and he falls on the floor, his entire body feeling like it’s pulsing. 

Within minutes, his laughter turns into a roar, and a beast emerges where there was once a man.

___

Given everything that’s happened, it’s been awhile since Magnus and Alec have got together for one of their ‘watch TV and eat take out’ nights, so when Alec knocks on Magnus’ front door that evening, he’s excited. He’s been looking forward to it all day, having texted Magnus the previous evening to ask if he was free. 

He had thought that maybe Magnus wouldn’t want to see him, wanting instead to relax and spend some time recharging on his own after all the overtime he’s been working, but he’d replied to Alec almost immediately with a yes.

Alec is a little more nervous than usual, given that he’s planning to tell Magnus tonight that he likes him too, and that he’s Spiderman. He’s not sure how Magnus is going to take _ that  _ reveal, but he’s fairly sure he’s going to be happy about his feelings being reciprocated.

He still can’t over the fact that his neighbor, who he’s been pining over for months,  _ actually likes him back _ . Alec feels like he’s sixteen again, about to confront his crush. Plus, it’s Magnus, who has a heart of gold and those dark brown eyes and makes Alec want to be a better person. 

Everything feels like it’s too good to be true, but he remembers the private little smile on Magnus’ face at the movie night as he admitted having feelings for someone, and reminds himself that this isn’t some crazy alternate universe. 

While he waits for Magnus to open the door, Alec feels like things are finally getting back to normal. They’ve done this so many times before that’s it’s almost ordinary - not mundane, done out of obligation, but just a part of his life where Magnus slots in seamlessly. For a moment, it feels like it did the last time they did this - for a moment, it feels like Hodge is still here and Alec is just a regular guy. 

Magnus opens the door with a bright smile. “Alexander!” he says happily. “Come in.”

As always, Magnus looks wonderful, but tonight especially so. He’s just wearing a soft grey cashmere sweater and a pair of black jeans, nothing as fancy as he wore at the bar the other evening, but he looks comfortable and relaxed, and Alec looks him up and down approvingly. 

Seeing Magnus like this calms his nerves considerably, too. There’s no pressure here. It’s just him and Magnus, and everything is - it’s  _ easy _ .

“I hope you don’t mind,” Magnus begins conversationally, waiting while Alec takes his shoes and coat off, “but I cooked for us tonight. I’ve eaten nothing but take out for the past week since I’ve been getting home so late, so I was craving something home cooked.”

Alec smiles at him and shakes his head. “That’s fine,” he says. “You should have said - I would’ve come and helped.”

Magnus’ smile turns teasing. “Mm, I should’ve, especially since I’m hard at work all day long and your student ass has probably been lying in bed all day.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “It’s Saturday,” he reminds Magnus with a grin, following him into the kitchen when he turns away. “You work Monday to Friday.”

Magnus disregards this with a wave of his hand, rings glittering in the light. “What have you been doing with yourself, anyway?”

Alec pauses before replying. This might be the perfect moment to tell Magnus the truth about what he’s been up to, but he loses his nerve when Magnus turns to him with a warm, curious gaze. 

“This and that,” Alec shrugs. Magnus’ lips twitch and he tilts his head. 

“That’s very secretive, Alexander,” he says drily. His hand creeps up to fiddle with the cuff around the shell of his ear. “Good thing I like a man with an air of mystery about him.”

Magnus turns back to the cooker with a coy glance in Alec’s direction, and Alec feels his mouth go dry. He’s fairly sure he’s not imagining things - he and Magnus are pretty friendly, sometimes, but he can’t remember Magnus ever being this direct before. 

Perhaps, he realises, they’re healing for each other. He knows Magnus was getting over a bad breakup when he moved in, and maybe now he feels like he’s ready to move on. 

Like he might be ready to move on with Alec. The thought makes fireworks go off in Alec’s chest and he bites down on a smile. 

Alec’s brain helpfully supplies him with the memory of the moment Magnus kissed him, and he clears his throat loudly. 

“Can I do anything to help?”

Together they finish getting things ready - Magnus has done all the preparation and got everything on, so they’re really just waiting for it to cook. Magnus suggests they eat out on the balcony, and, with a glance outside, seeing the sun setting over the New York skyline, Alec agrees. He reckons declaring his feelings for Magnus against that backdrop might even be classed as romantic.

Alec takes two glasses and a bottle of wine out to the table while Magnus brings the cutlery. Alec sets them down, heart jumping in his throat. 

Almost on instinct, his hand darts out to catch Magnus’ arm when Magnus moves to go back inside. 

“Hey,” Alec says lowly, swallowing, “I, uh. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Magnus nods and looks openly at Alec, clearly waiting for him to go on.

“I -“ Alec closes his mouth, then opens it again. “I don’t know -” He shuts his mouth once more with a frustrated huff, not knowing how to say what he wants to say. He needs this to be perfect. For Magnus. 

It was so much easier when he had the mask on.

Magnus rests a hand on Alec’s arm, his expression going soft. “Why don’t you take a minute to think while I go check on the potatoes?” he suggests. 

Before Alec can respond, Magnus is turning away from him with a caring smile. He doesn’t want to let Magnus slip away from him, though - he’s tired of waiting. He just wants to  _ be _ with Magnus. Without thinking, Alec shoots a web from his wrist at Magnus’ hip, taking him by surprise, and tugs gently until Magnus is flush against him. 

Magnus’ mouth drops open as he looks down at his hip, then back at Alec. 

“Wha -“

“ _ Magnus _ ,” Alec whispers, unable to stop smiling, “I’m ridiculously into you, too.”

Alec’s heart is pounding as he cups Magnus’ face, his whole body thrumming with excitement. Realisation flashes across Magnus’ face and he blinks at Alec like he’s never seen him before. After a pause that feels to Alec like an eternity, Magnus starts to smile, something small and hopeful. His hands settle on Alec’s waist and Alec leans in. 

“I’m going to kiss you now,” he says, words little more than breath against Magnus’ lips, and just before he closes his eyes he sees Magnus tilting his head up to close the distance between them. 

The kiss is soft at first, tentative and searching, and then Alec feels Magnus’ grip tighten on his shirt and he slips his fingers into Magnus’ hair, deepening the kiss. 

He can’t breathe or think anything but Magnus, his whole body lighting up with sparks. This is happening. He’s  _ kissing Magnus. _

Magnus pulls back from him and a small whine escapes from the back of Alec’s throat. 

“Alexander,” Magnus mumbles against Alec’s jaw, half amazed, half laughing. 

Warmth spreads throughout Alec’s body and hearing his name come out of Magnus’ mouth shows him that Magnus sees him and not just Spiderman. When he kissed Magnus as his alter ego, while it made his toes curl, he knows that to Magnus it probably felt impersonal, like kissing a stranger at a bar. It wasn’t the two of them, but this is real. 

Now, this kiss is tender and longing, and everything Alec hoped it would be like when he first kissed Magnus properly. There’s so much more there.

“Magnus,” Alec says desperately, playing with the short hair at the base of Magnus’ neck and needing Magnus’ lips back on his own. 

Magnus’ eyes darken with desire and he kisses Alec again, using the hands on Alec’s hips to press them together so there’s not an inch between them. His lips slide over Alec’s, kissing him deeper, and Alec feels a jolt of electricity all the way down to his bones. 

Time stops and Alec’s world narrows down to Magnus - his hands under Alec’s shirt, warm against his skin; the way his breath trembles ever so slightly when Alec pulls away before kissing him again, harder this time. He pours everything he can into the kiss, trying to show Magnus just how much he wants him, how much he’s been longing for him.

When they finally break apart, Alec rests his forehead against Magnus’, breathing heavily. Magnus still has his eyes closed and his lips tug up in a contented smile.

He slowly blinks his eyes open, and his expression is so full of affection as he looks at Alec that Alec can’t believe how lucky he is to be here with him.

“You’re Spiderman,” Magnus says breathlessly.

Alec nods, smoothing his thumb tenderly over Magnus’ cheekbone. 

“Is that okay?” he asks, mesmerised by Magnus’ eyes. 

Magnus just laughs, sliding his hands up the front of Alec’s shirt, his right palm resting over Alec’s heart. Alec idly wonders if Magnus can tell how fast his heart is beating, and that it’s all because of him. 

It’s only now that they’ve stopped kissing and Alec is able to focus on something other than Magnus that he realises there’s an unusually loud whine of police sirens coming from the direction of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

They both turn towards it. Alec frowns, a sense of dread creeping over him and making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. 

Magnus pats his chest. “Go do your thing,” he says, with a smile that is both amused and adoring. “We can pick this back up another night.”

With Magnus in his arms, for a moment, Alec thinks _ to hell with the city. _ But then the wail of sirens seems to grow louder, and he nods, reluctantly pulling away from Magnus. He presses one last kiss to Magnus’ lips, then vaults over the balcony with a grin, already shooting out a web and swinging in the direction of the bridge. 

Focussed on saving the people who need his help, Alec doesn’t look back, and he misses Magnus watching him go, slow smile spreading across his face. 

Magnus brushes his thumb against his bottom lip, remembering the feel of Alec’s mouth against his own bare moments ago, and savouring the feeling. 

“God,” he says to himself giddily, shaking his head, still smiling. He looks out over the city, no longer able to see Alec, but imagining him swinging between the buildings, ready to save the city. “I’m so fucked.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ceci is still the best beta ever thanks babe <3
> 
> pls note the rating has gone up to mature bc of themes of violence that get heavier from here on out. if you didn't notice, the number of chapters has been added, too!!
> 
>  **tw:** mention of human experimentation
> 
> writing highlights of ch6:
> 
>   * “I DONT HAVE A DONUT KINK” - elle 2017
>   * “lol he's gay get it” - charl abt alec not being able to think straight
>   * “RIP i hatye this” - elle 2018
> 


The first thing Alec notices when he swings into the scene is the heavy traffic on all lanes of the bridge. While New York City traffic isn’t that out of the ordinary, _this_ is. He lands on top of one the pillars, looking down and accessing the scene.

Alec takes off his backpack and crouches down low, trying to find the reason for all the police sirens and yelling. His eyes follow the car lane when he hears a thunderous roar. He looks further down the bridge, the opposite direction people are running in, and - _holy shit_.

What the _fuck_ is that?

There’s a monster clawing its way through the car lanes, clearly on a mission of his own. It’s tall and huge, and Alec can see pointy teeth in his mouth when it growls. It has a giant fucking _tail_ , and Alec is 100% sure he has never seen anything like this in his entire life.

Momentarily, he feels fear course through his body. Taking down human bad guys is one thing - he knows he has a clear advantage with his superpowers. But this? He doesn’t really know if he’d be able to win in a fight against this creature.

Alec quickly changes into the super suit, webbing his backpack onto the pillar as he watches the giant being terrorize the people on the bridge. As more people catch sight of it, they run off screaming, and Alec hopes, deep in his gut, that he can save all of them from whatever _that_ is.

When Alec is fully in gear, he sees the creature stop at one truck, and when the creature’s claws move towards the bottom of the vehicle, Alec knows what it’s gonna do. He dives down towards the bottom, and just as the creature tosses the car into the water, Alec catches it with his webbing and attaches his webbing to the edge of the bridge. He’s about to tell the people in the car to climb up, when he sees the creature flip more cars over the edge.

Alec hopes the people in the cars get the idea about climbing up the rope, because it’s all he can offer right now as he continues to catch cars with his webs, trying to save as many people as he can. He chances a look back as he leaps in the air, and notices civilians lining the edge of the bridge, helping the people get out of the dangling cars Alec has left behind.

Thank God, he thinks to himself.

The creature is ruthless, tossing cars over mercilessly as it makes its way through the traffic. It gets to one sleek black car and roars at the top of its lunges, pointedly throwing it over with much more rage than it’s done with the other cars. Alec saves that one too, attaching the web to the edge of the building. The man from inside the car looks back through the broken glass window in the back and they lock eyes for merely a moment before Alec hears someone shouting for help.

“Someone help me, my daughter’s in there - _please_!”

Alec looks back at the creature, and has a mental debate over whether to go after this terrifying beast or to save the kid. It takes barely a second for Alec to make up his mind as he watches the bad guy get away, crawling over the edge of the bridge and out of sight, but not before Alec catches sight of dark black ink stretching over the creature’s bicep and down to it’s inner elbow. It’s a tattoo, Alec pieces together. He’s sure the symbol is something he’s seen before -

On his father’s briefcase. On the box in Valentine’s house.

The angelic rune.

Alec’s mind goes blank and for a minute it plays on a loop, the only thing he can think of. Then his instincts kick in and he forces himself to file the information away to think about later, knowing he has to focus on saving these people.

He jumps up and swings towards the car with the child. He breaks open the garage door after a moment of struggle, and hears the soft whimpers that could only belong to a little girl.

She’s seatbelted into the back seat of the car, and Alec could just barely make out her curled up form.

“Hey,” Alec calls, trying to swallow his own fear of failure. He needs to save this girl. She looks back at him, her eyes wide and calculating and Alec tries to smile before remembering that there’s a mask over his face. “Hey, sweetheart,” Alec says softly, trying his best to sound inviting and not terrifying.

This girl has clearly seen the beast from before though, because she’s still terrified, her lower lip quivering, and Alec doesn’t blame her. He’s positive that she’s not excited to see another unusual thing right now. The little girl starts looking around frantically, as if trying to find a way to escape the situation. Alec knows, though, that the only way to get her out is to go up.

She clearly doesn’t trust him, and she’s starting to breathe heavily, so Alec does the first thing he can think of.

“Hey, hey!” Alec calls, ripping off his mask quickly when she looks at him. He doesn’t know why he does it, exactly, but a part of him knows that in order to trust him, the girl has to see that there’s a real human being behind the mask. “Look, I’m just a normal guy. Okay?”

The girl’s wide eyes seem to look less terrified as she holds his gaze. Her breathing has gone back down to normal as she studies him, and Alec offers her a weak smile.

“What’s your name?” Alec asks, and she chews on her lip before offering up a response.

“Madzie,” she says quietly.

“That’s a beautiful name,” Alec says, and mentally fist pumps for the progress. “Would you like to see my mask?”

Madzie nods tentatively, and Alec is glad he can offer her some sort of distraction. He tosses it to her and she catches it, looking it over immediately.

“Let’s get you out of here, Madzie, okay?” Alec says and she looks back up at him to nod. “Just stay perfectly still.”

Alec slowly starts to lower himself, trying to figure out how to do this in the easiest possible way.

“I got you, Madzie, don’t worry,” Alec reassures, trying to get his arm around her. If he can grip her, maybe he can just have her hold onto his back as he webs them to the bridge. He gets close to her, finding her seat belt still locked.

“I’m just gonna undo the seatbelt, okay?” Alec asks, watching her nod again. He crushes the seatbelt with his hand and she thumps gently on the back of the driver’s seat. She keeps fiddling with the mask, as if it’s the only thing grounding her.

Alec smiles at Madzie, glad she’s being so brave. “You’re amazing. You did so well,” Alec says, and her eyes seem to light up a little. Just as he’s about to give her more instructions, through the corner of his eye he seems flames start to flare in the front of the car.

The fire coats the outside of the car and reaches the webbing. It burns it right off and Alec feels gravity shift, the car falling for a second as Alec points his wrist up, pushing his middle and ring fingers on his palm and shoots a new webbing at the bridge. The car keeps falling, though, and he grabs the bumper just in time.

The muscle strain is tough, running throughout his arms and back. He can feel the heat of the fire on his wrist, but he holds on. Madzie actually lets out a yelp, and from this angle Alec can see just how badly the car is engulfed in flames.

Panic threatens to choke Alec out, but he needs to stay calm, for his sake and for Madzie’s.

Madzie’s at the front of the car, just barely out of reach from the fire.

“Madzie, climb!” Alec calls, and she shakes her head vigorously. “You can do this, Madzie!”

She keeps shaking her head, clutching the Spiderman mask between her hands like a lifeline. Alec suddenly gets an idea.

“Put it on,” Alec says, the muscles in his body feeling like they’re ripping apart. He’s not gonna be able to hold on much longer. “Put on the mask. It’ll make you strong.”

Madzie keeps staring at Alec, before her gaze dips to the mask. He can see it shaking slightly, and he takes it as a sign that she’s still frightened out of her mind.

“Just trust me, Madzie, c’mon,” Alec encourages her. He clenches his jaw, trying to hold on to the webbing and the car for dear life. When Madzie finally starts pulling the mask over her head, Alec finds some sort of strength within him to hang on.

The bumper slowly starts disattaching from the car.

“You got it, there you go! Now I need you to climb, sweetheart, please,” Alec says, involuntarily letting out a yelp from how bad his body is aching. Alec keeps his eyes on Madzie, watching her slowly begin to climb up the car, and he cheers her on, praying it’ll make a difference.

Just as she reaches out her small hand towards Alec’s, the bumper breaks off completely, and the car starts to fall again.

“No!” Alec shouts.

“Spiderman!” Madzie screams out, and Alec quickly snaps another webbing on her torso, hanging on to her as the car plunges into the water. She instantly grips the webbing, and Alec closes his eyes for a moment in relief, feeling the sensation flood his entire body.

He pulls Madzie towards him, getting an arm around her and taking his mask back and putting it on before pulling them both up on his other webbing. On the edge of the bridge stands what he presumes is Madzie’s family, an older black woman who starts crying the minute she sees Madzie.

“Baby girl,” she coos, and Madzie hugs her immediately, burrowing her face in the woman’s neck. Alec’s entire body is screaming at him to rest, but he can’t help watch the scene between the two.

“My daughter, my angel,” the woman keeps saying softly, and she pulls Madzie away for a second to look at her properly. The smile Madzie sends her is radiant, and Alec can’t help but compare her large brown eyes to Max’s.

Somewhere deep down, it kills Alec that Max never got to experience his mother’s love.

The woman turns around with Madzie still in her arms, tear tracks on her cheeks. “Thank you,” she says earnestly. “You’re him, aren’t you?”

Alec nods once, his entire body heaving from pure exhaustion.

“I’m Spiderman,” is all Alec says before shooting another web and fleeing the scene to go home.

___

DETECTIVE RAPHAEL SANTIAGO MAKES A PUBLIC NYPD STATEMENT

“At approximately 9 p.m. last night, an incident took place on the Brooklyn Bridge. Much of what occurred is really speculation at this point. Several eyewitnesses to the crime, as well as our own preliminary findings, have positively placed one creature at the scene, as well as someone else this city has grown familiar with. We have room to believe that they are working together due to their unnatural abilities, and that is why why this morning I’m issuing an arrest warrant for the masked vigilante known as Spiderman.”

___

When Alec gets home after the bridge fiasco, he practically collapses into bed. He’s a little glad that Jace knows his secret now. It means Alec didn’t have to concern himself with removing his suit and could just pass out until 1 PM and Jace knew why. Alec even woke up with a blanket thrown over him, Advil on his bedside table, and hot tea.

He spends the next two days healing his sore muscles and watching a few movie musicals. Magnus checks in on him and Alec reassures him that he’s doing okay, despite hearing about the arrest warrant on the news that day.

It isn’t until two days later when Alec closes his eyes to take a nap that something starts bugging him. He starts remembering key details from his life the past few months, and it’s like a lightbulb turns on above his head.

Alec rushes to his desk, scrabbling to find what he’s looking for, and he holds the photograph of Valentine and his team up, finally resolving the nagging that’s been in his mind for a while.

Standing right there, all the way to the right in a security guard uniform is none other than Luke Garroway.

Alec can’t believe he let this detail slide for so long. He knows this group is somehow connected to the symbol he’s been seeing in random places surrounding Valentine and his parents. And now, he has someone other than Valentine that he can approach about this.

Alec gets dressed and runs out the house, going down the familiar route to get the precinct Luke works at, the photo in his pocket.

The front desk makes him wait momentarily while they get Luke, and after a minute Luke appears, wearing a denim shirt and his badge on his waist. He looks pleasantly surprised to see Alec, and offers him a hand.

“Alec, hey,” Luke says as Alec shakes his hand with a polite smile. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Alec studies him for a moment before licking his lips and straightening up. “Can we talk? In private?”

“Sure,” Luke says, eyebrows furrowing. “Follow me.”

Luke leads him to his office, and Alec remembers the last time he was in here and the choice he had made then, to hunt Blackwell. The man still lingers in the back of his mind, taunting him with what Alec couldn’t avenge. Now, Alec can hardly think of Blackwell, not when there’s this thing going around terrorizing people in the city.

“What can I help you with?” Luke asks, and Alec just takes a breath, reaching into his pocket and taking out the photo, handing it to Luke.

“What can you tell me about this?” Alec asks, trying to keep his composure.

“Where did you get this?” Luke asks, his eyes wide as he looks over the photo and then back to Alec.

“Found it in one of my dad’s old briefcases. Why didn’t you tell me you knew my parents?” Alec says, trying not to sound too accusatory.

Luke just sighs deeply, putting the photo on his desk and gesturing to the chair across from him. “Sit down.”

Alec obliges, still feeling tense now that he sees the look on Luke’s face.

“This group is what was once called the Shadowhunters,” Luke starts, shaking his head as he meets Alec’s eyes. “Don’t ask about the name, I think Valentine and Robert were both extremely drunk when they came up with it.

“I knew Valentine from college. He was my roommate who studied science, and always had this idea to make the human race better. Says he could cure cancer and end diabetes and all kinds of crazy shit. I admired the guy for a while. Thought he was dreaming more than any other college student was, so when he came to me and asked me to be security at this tiny science facility he was forming, I agreed. I was right out of college and didn’t have a job yet, and my wife was part of the team too, so it felt like it was all coming together.”

Luke leans back in his chair and rubs at his temple before making eye contact with Alec again.

“I just made sure their work was being kept a secret. I didn’t pretend to understand what they were researching, but after living with Valentine for four years I thought that maybe I was supporting something good,” Luke says, looking forlorn. “What a fool I was. I didn’t really know any of the scientists on the team very well, and I just had this blind hope that Valentine’s work would change the world.”

Scoffing, Luke folds his hands in his lap.

“Then I heard about some of the shady shit Valentine did. After he got funding from certain investors, he started spewing some kind of ridiculous things. Talked about immortality, and bettering the human race through injections that made them practically lose their state of mind. I thought about leaving for a while, but then - then I heard him start talking about testing on humans. Wanted to get people he thought were lesser than him to test on and I couldn’t stick around. Jocelyn and I left and covered our tracks. Then people kept disbanding and some people passed away, and suddenly Valentine has one of the tallest buildings in New York City and is a billionaire.”

Luke scratches at his scruff. “That’s all I know Alec, I’m sorry.”

Alec releases the breath he didn’t realize he was holding, trying to process everything. Alec stares at the photo on the table, “Who are those other people?”

“Just other people who were in on Valentine’s project and saw it as something extraordinary.” Luke points at a woman in the photo with long red hair. “That’s my wife. She worked PR for the team and it’s the reason we managed to get away just as Valentine was on the brink of sanity.” Luke points a black woman on the right hand side of the team, smiling. “That’s my sister. When the Shadowhunters started it was full of people with hope, and then it just - fell apart.”

“Do you have a piece of paper?” Alec asks, and Luke looks confused but nods, passing him a post-it note and a pencil. Alec draws out the symbol he’s been seeing everywhere very carefully, then shows it to Luke.

“Do you know what this means?”

Luke nods, looking at the paper with so much emotion in his eyes, Alec can feel the regret coming off of Luke in waves. “Yeah, that’s the angelic rune. It’s the symbol for the project he was working on before he closed it down.”

Alec blinks at Luke, chewing on his lip.

_Why was the angelic rune on the creature on the bridge? Was it an experiment? Or was it bitten by something the same way Alec was?_

“You never answered my question,” Alec says. “About why you didn’t tell me you knew my parents.”

Luke pins Alec with a hard look. “The first time I spoke to you officially was over the passing of your guardian. Surely it wasn’t a time to bring up your past and other tragedies you’ve lived through.”

“Fair enough,” Alec says with a nod, playing with the zipper on his jacket. “What about Magnus?” Alec asks, meeting Luke’s eyes. “Does he know who he’s working for, if Valentine is as bad as you say he is?”

“Magnus knows I have a connection to Valentine,” Luke says, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. “But Valentine’s facility has a ton of resources. He can’t have a publicly tainted world renowned company, so the work Magnus has been doing is good. It helps people. Not to mention Magnus is a smart man, and has had his doubts about Valentine’s character from the start.”

Luke chuckles to himself, then chews on his lip, looking troubled for a moment.

“I don’t even know if he continued with his spider studies,” Luke says. Even though Alec subconsciously knew the spiders were correlated into all of this, it still makes his blood run cold to hear it confirmed.

“That _thing_ on the bridge,” Alec starts, trying not to sound too concerned, “I - I saw it on the news. Do you think that has something to do with Valentine’s studies?”

Luke shrugs. “That’s not the craziest assumption you could have, but we have no evidence to prove it. It could be anything at this point.”

Alec hates that he can’t help Luke, and can’t just blurt out: hey I’m Spiderman and that creature on the bridge had an angelic rune tattoo that oddly doesn’t seem like a coincidence!

Not everything adds up to Alec either. He can feel the holes in the story, the gaps of information that’s missing. But there isn’t much he can do about that other than dig for the truth. Maybe he should start hunting Blackwell again soon - maybe he can tell Alec something.

“I guess,” Alec replies.

Luke takes a sip of the mug of coffee on his table that’s probably cold by now. “Between you and me, I don’t like the shit the NYPD has been saying about Spiderman. From what I can tell, the dude’s a hero.”

Trying not to smile, Alec shrugs a shoulder. “I just think that whatever that was on the bridge, it needs to be stopped. I’m sure the NYPD has it under control.”

“Yeah, but having a man in spandex with superhuman abilities helping out doesn’t hurt,” Luke says with a small smirk, and Alec chuckles.

“Thank you, Luke,” Alec says, sitting up straighter and taking the photo, looking at it before putting it in his pocket. “You’ve cleared up a lot of things for me and I can’t thank you enough.”

“No problem,” Luke says, nodding and shooting Alec a small friendly smile.

Alec gets up to leave, but just as he gets his hand on the doorknob, Luke says his name and Alec turns to look at him.

“Whatever you need to figure out about your parent’s past, if you’re going to go through Valentine to find it, be careful.” Luke says seriously. “He’s not a good man. Trust me.”

Alec nods slowly, and realizes he does.

___

With the craziness of the night on the bridge, an arrest warrant for him being put out across the city, and all the new information he’s picked up from Luke, Alec is almost glad when he gets the chance to collapse on his bed with his school work. He never thought studying for his finals would be classed as taking a breather, but then he couldn’t have predicted any of the other stuff going on in his life, either.

It’s a while since he’s had the chance to sit down with his books and study, and he actually finds it quite absorbing. He’s missed so many lectures over the last few weeks that he has to go back to his textbooks and the notes he’d gratefully borrowed from his friend Aline, and he’s concentrating on it all so much that he doesn’t realise the time until his phone starts buzzing.

The text from Magnus reads _Still on for tonight?_ with a heart eyes emoji, and Alec smiles as soon as he reads it.

 _I’m still studying :( can we raincheck till 8?,_ he sends back, and the little grey bubble that signals Magnus typing pops up right away.

 _Fine by me_ , Magnus replies, followed by, _I can work out for a little longer before I jump in the shower_.

Alec stares at his phone, trying not to imagine Magnus getting all sweaty while he works out, or stripping out of his gym gear so he can shower -

He fails. With a frustrated groan, he quickly text back _ok, see u later_ and then switches his phone off, in case Magnus decides to send him any post-work out Snapchats. He’s not strong enough for that, especially not when he’s supposed to be studying.

After a couple of hours, Alec’s made a pretty decent dent in preparing for his finals. He stretches out his back, hearing the satisfying crack of his joints, then glances over at his alarm clock to check the time.

Right on time, the doorbell goes. Alec sets his books and folders aside, then gets up from his bed to answer the door, quickly smoothing down his hair before he goes.

Magnus looks radiant when Alec opens the door to him. He’s wearing a vibrant blue shirt that makes his biceps look huge and the smile gracing his face is confident and happy, his posture relaxed. The only sign of nervousness Alec picks up on is the way Magnus’ left thumb and forefinger rub together repeatedly while he waits for Alec to invite him in.

Alec’s already smiling when he speaks. “Hey, Magnus,” he says, his day already feeling brighter just for seeing him.

It’s crazy how much Magnus makes him feel at ease. Even though Alec’s pulse is skittering, it’s just because this is the first time they’ve seen each other since they kissed on Magnus’ balcony - well, they’d passed each other in the hallway, one morning, when Alec was coming back from a night patrol and Magnus going to work, but they’d not had time to talk - and this is all so new. He’s got butterflies in his tummy every time he’s thought about Magnus over the last week.

“Hello, Alexander,” Magnus says, taking a small step forward towards Alec’s apartment. It reminds him that Magnus is probably feeling the same way, too - hopeful, eager, and trying not to fall too hard too soon.

“Come in,” Alec says, a little breathless as Magnus brushes past him. He knows that nothing Magnus does is accidental; Magnus touching him already, even so briefly, _means_ something.

God. Alec wants Magnus so badly he can hardly comprehend it.

Magnus pokes his head into the living room, then looks to Alec. “Where’s Jace?” he asks, politely curious.

“He’s out with Simon,” Alec says, shrugging. “Got the apartment to myself.”

Magnus’ eyes dart to his at that, and he licks his lips slowly. The air between them is suddenly electric and Alec feels hot all over, knowing, without doubt, that his mind and Magnus’ have both gone to the same place.

He clears his throat, eyes flitting around the apartment to look anywhere but Magnus. His hands twitch at his sides and he shoves them in his pockets to stop himself doing something dumb like grabbing Magnus’ shoulders and kissing him till they’re both breathless.

“D’you - uh, can I get you a drink?” Alec asks, heart rabbiting in his chest. He’s felt the same way about Magnus for months now, but the urge to touch him, kiss him, hear him gasp and moan, has never been so strong. Now Alec knows how it actually feels, he can’t get enough.

Thankfully, Magnus takes pity on him and smiles. “Just a Coke, please.”

Alec nods and walks through to the kitchen, trying to pull himself together. Magnus is here to spend time with him, that’s all.

He can do this.

Alec pours two glasses of Coke and, when makes his way back through to the hallway, he finds Magnus inspecting the photo on the side table just beside the door, an ancient picture of Jace, Izzy, Max, and Alec at the beach when Alec was about 9.

Magnus turns around when he hears Alec, biting down on a guilty smile.

“You can look, I don’t mind,” Alec says, before Magnus has the chance to apologise. He grins at Magnus and nods towards his bedroom. “Lead the way.”

Magnus has never been to his room before and he opens the door carefully, looking around with a slight smile.

“It’s not much,” Alec says self-deprecatingly, while he puts their drinks down.

Magnus shrugs. “It’s very you,” he says decisively. Alec glances around.

“Is it?” he asks, frowning. Magnus laughs a little and wanders to the corkboard above Alec’s desk. There’s an assortment of mementos pinned up; ticket stubs from movies he went to see with Jace when they were teenagers, the photo of his family from his high school graduation he’d found at Hodge’s, a polaroid of him and Aline she’d made Raj take at a college party in freshman year they’d dragged him to.

Magnus nods, gesturing around the room. “Ordered,” he says, pointing to the stuff laid out neatly on Alec’s desk and his folders of notes, then his hand moves to the board, “but fiercely loving.”

Alec is pleasantly surprised by the assessment, and he shuffles the notes on his bed for something to do while he tries to stop his mouth from smiling so much.

“Thanks,” he manages a moment later, and Magnus is watching him with an amused but gentle expression. “I’ll just, uh - this stuff -”

“Don’t clear up on my account. If you need to keep studying for a bit, I don’t mind,” Magnus offers. “I can test you, if you want.” His smile turns a notch more suggestive. “I’ve been told I’m a good teacher.”

Alec blinks, then clears his throat. “I’ll. Yeah, okay. I mean, I’ll just finish going over this lecture, if that’s okay?”

Magnus nods easily and returns to looking at Alec’s stuff, seemingly very interested. After about five minutes, he wheels Alec’s desk chair out and takes a seat. Alec glances up, feeling Magnus’ eyes on him.

“I’m nearly done,” he reassures Magnus, then narrows his eyes. “You okay?”

Magnus nods a second too late. He seems hesitant about something, and Alec has no clue what it is until, all in one breath, Magnus asks, “Can I see the Spiderman suit?”

Alec’s eyes go wide, then he glances to his closet. “Yeah, of course,” he says, watching Magnus carefully. Surely he hadn’t been nervous about asking Alec that? “It’s on the left side of the closet.”

Magnus smiles, something bright and excited lighting up in his eyes. He crosses Alec’s room to the closet and opens the door. Alec hears a quiet intake of breath and looks over to see Magnus touching the spider on the front of the suit with gentle fingers.

“I always wanted to be a superhero when I was a kid,” Magnus laughs, but his voice is hushed, like he’s lost in memory. He keeps his eyes on the suit and Alec gives him a moment of privacy, returning to finishing making notes on the lecture.

He’s in the middle of trying to decipher Aline’s handwriting in a comment on a particular case when Magnus hums.

“What’s this?” he asks. When Alec glances over, Magnus’ fingers brushing over the inside of the suit.

“What’s what?” he asks distractedly, frowning at the scrawled notes. A moment later, Magnus starts laughing, and Alec looks up, confused.

When Magnus manages to compose himself, he turns the suit towards Alec so he can see.

“I didn’t realise your name was ‘dumb butt’,” he teases, and Alec’s eyes go wide before he feels his face flame and buries it in his hands. He remembers the conversation and Jace’s teasing about a name label, but he didn’t think Jace had actually put anything in the suit.

“Oh my God,” he says, muffled. Magnus laughs again and Alec can’t help pouting. He decides to give up with the lecture and slots everything back into its folder, clearing a space on his bed for Magnus to sit down. “I’m gonna murder Jace.”

“He made your suit?” Magnus asks as he makes himself comfortable beside Alec.

Alec nods. “He’s good with all that stuff,” he says fondly. “I think it was his way of making sure I’m safe, you know?”

Magnus is quiet for a moment. He plays with his rings idly, head turned sideways so he can look at Alec.

“Does it scare you, what you can do?” he asks.

Alec tilts his head, considering Magnus’ question carefully. The only time he remembers being scared was in the room with the spiders itself; after that, he was freaked out, and it took him a while to get used to his new powers, but he’s never been _scared_ , exactly.

“No,” he says slowly. “It was weird, at first, but not scary.” He glances down at his hands, running one finger over the skin of his wrist. “I guess it helps that I know I control my powers, not the other way around,” he adds.

Magnus is watching him closely; he nods, seeming thoughtful, and leans his head back against the bedroom wall. The two of them chat for a bit, but Alec can’t help being distracted; he’s itching to reach out and take Magnus’ hand, or maybe ask if he could kiss him again. He’s not sure where they are yet, though, and he doesn’t want to presume too much or make Magnus uncomfortable, so he tamps down on the urge and suggests they order take out instead.

While they wait for the food to arrive Magnus asks if the man in Alec’s graduation photo is Hodge, and Alec nods. He ends up telling Magnus everything, right from the start - about his parents and their work at Idris Corp, the way they’d left so suddenly, the night he and his siblings had been left with Hodge. He mentions Valentine showing him the room with the spiders, which makes Magnus raise his eyebrows, and he talks about getting bitten and developing his powers.

Part way through, the delivery person arrives with their food. Magnus grabs them plates and cutlery while Alec pays for the food. He kicks the door shut with his foot, balancing the boxes of take out in his arms, and walks to the kitchen.

“Can I ask you something?” he says, putting the boxes down. Magnus nods as he opens them and starts serving. “Well, I mean, you know about - science and stuff. How do you think it happened to me, my powers?”

Magnus hands Alec a plate piled high with food, which he accepts with thanks, then he fusses until Magnus sits down with food himself.

“My best guess,” Magnus says slowly, mulling over Alec’s question, “would be some kind of cross genetic mutation.”

Alec hums, trying to sound knowledgeable. The amusement sparkling in Magnus’ gaze makes him give up. “And that is?”

Magnus pauses eating, putting his cutlery down to steeple his fingers. “I don’t know how much you remember from high school biology,” he begins with a smile, and Alec suddenly feels hot under the collar from the clear authority in Magnus’ voice, “but mutation is simply just a permanent change in DNA. For example, when we talk about gene mutation in evolution, we’re often referring to organisms with a gene that changed and ended up enhancing their ability to survive and pass those genes onto their offspring.”

“Right,” Alec nods, “survival of the fittest.”

“Exactly.” Magnus takes a sip of his Coke, then continues. “Now, this has been happening naturally for literally millions of years, but _cross_ genetic mutation is much more recent. It’s where we put genetic material from one organism into a different organism, which creates a new DNA sequence that nature would never come up with.”

Magnus becomes more animated, his voice almost bursting with energy as he talks. “These new organisms can be used in loads of different fields,” he explains. “We can make crops that are resistant to pests and diseases, or improve the way they grow in poor conditions. A few years ago, scientists managed to create mosquitos that are resistant to malaria - do you know how many lives that has the potential to save?”

“So,” Alec says, digesting everything Magnus has told him, “it’s a good thing?”

Magnus picks up his cutlery and starts eating again. “Like with anything, it depends whose hands it’s in,” he says, more serious now. “But in my eyes, it gives the best of both organisms to save people’s lives, or give them a better quality of life. It gives us a chance to _help_ people.”

Alec nods thoughtfully. Magnus shakes his head and glances down, smiling a little.

“Sorry,” he says, sounding almost embarrassed. “I know it can be a bit much when I start talking about science outside of work.”

Alec’s brow creases. “Hey,” he says softly, “I was the one who asked. I like listening to you talk about this stuff.”

Magnus’ smile grows at that and he sends Alec a look full of fondness.

“So,” Alec says, “you think that’s what happened to me?”

Magnus raises his eyebrows. “I guess. I know Idris has done research into cross genetic mutation with rats and lizards because I worked on the project for a while, but I don’t know anything about spiders.”

Alec shrugs. “I remember my dad always loved spiders,” he says, pulling a face. “It was a project he worked on with Valentine. When he died, maybe the funding stopped, or something.”

Magnus hums, sounding unconvinced. “It’s usually done _in vitro_ , though,” he goes on. His gaze flickers over Alec’s face. “I’ve never heard of successful cross genetic mutation in a living organism.”

“Guess I’m just special,” Alec says, laughing a little. Magnus just watches him, smiling again.

“Yes, you are,” he says sincerely, and Alec can’t help smiling, pleased and giddy.

They eat in comfortable silence for a while, both looking at the other and then glancing away with a smile when they get caught. When they’ve finished their food, they move to the couch in the living room, and Alec is pleased to note Magnus sits close to him again.

“The creature on the bridge the other night,” Magnus begins, tracing a pattern on his pants with a painted fingernail, “you saw it up close. Do you think that could have resulted from cross genetic mutation, too?”

Alec hums thoughtfully. “Well,” he begins, “having been an expert in the subject for ten whole minutes…” Magnus laughs at that, and Alec smiles as well. “I don’t know,” he says truthfully, “but my gut is telling me it’s got something to do with it, at least. It had this marking on it that I’ve seen before.”

“For camouflage, or something?” Magnus asks, stretching out his legs.

Alec shakes his head. “No, it’s almost like a tattoo. I recognised it from some of my dad’s old papers and that box Valentine showed us when we went to his, and I spoke to someone who used to work at Idris about it, too. He said it was a symbol for an experimental project Valentine was working on before he shut it down.”

Magnus nods, taking the information in. “It has to be connected,” he muses.

Alec sighs, running his fingers through his hair raggedly. “I know. I just wish I could see how,” he says, frustration creeping into his voice. “But it doesn’t matter. I’ve gotta go after it.”

Magnus’ eyes meet his sharply. “The creature?” When Alec nods, Magnus fixes him with a look. “That’s not your job, Alexander.”

Alec looks down at his lap. “Maybe it is,” he says quietly. “Maybe it’s just someone like me who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got bitten or injected or whatever - I know how that feels. I could help it or...stop it. I don’t know.” His voice trails off.

“I could do some digging at work?” Magnus volunteers, sounding pensive. “See if any of the other senior researchers know about the project Valentine shut down.”

Alec shakes his head immediately. “Magnus, I don’t want you to risk your career like that.”

Magnus rolls his eyes. “Well, I don’t want you to risk your life going after the creature,” he replies flatly, meeting Alec’s stare head on. His gaze is unflinching, and Alec is the first to look away. “Alec, if Valentine is caught up in all of this and the project that got shut down is as awful as I’m starting to suspect it might be, I don’t even want to work for him anyway.”

Alec doesn’t know how to argue with that. “Is there anyone else you can ask first?” he says, voice strained. “Ages ago, when I was researching Idris, there were some newspaper reports on out of court settlements and stuff.”

Magnus tips his head. “That’s not a bad idea - my friend Dot is an investigative journalist.” Then he frowns. “I still haven’t heard from her, actually.”

Alec swallows. “She’s the one you mentioned at the bar the other week?”

Magnus nods. “I’ll try and get in touch with her. She’ll definitely be discreet, if it’s secrecy you’re worried about.”

“No, it’s _you_ I’m worried about,” Alec says honestly. “It’s not that I doubt you or think you’d mess up and Valentine would find out. I’m just - I can’t.” He breaks off, looking down. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

Magnus scoots closer on the couch so there’s no space between them, taking Alec’s hand in both of his own.

“Hey,” he says gently, “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Alec gazes into Magnus’ deep brown eyes, relief washing over him at Magnus’ reassurance. He laces their fingers together. “I’m glad,” he says, smiling softly, a private thing just for Magnus. “I know you worked your ass off to get where you are at Idris Corp, though. Please don’t blow that just for Spiderman.”

Magnus sighs. “I’ll talk to Dot first,” he concedes. “But if that doesn’t give us any answers, I’m going to ask around.” When Alec’s grip tightens on his hands, Magnus’ lips twitch up into a small smile. “Only people I trust. I’m not an idiot, Alexander.”

Alec is aware Magnus is joking, but he says, “I know,” anyway. Magnus’ eyes soften and he nudges Alec’s leg with his knee.

“What about you?”

“I’m gonna talk to Valentine again,” Alec says.

“Alexander -” Magnus begins, looking concerned.

“No, I know he’s dangerous,” Alec says, sighing, “but I think he still trusts me. He thinks I’m still just a kid who lost his parents, and I can use that to my advantage. I know you probably think it’s a dumb idea but I feel like it’s our only real shot at getting answers. Valentine’s at the centre of this.”

Magnus exhales deeply. “I think you’re right,” he says, shaking his head. His brow creases, lips tugging up into a lopsided smile. “When did things get so crazy, huh?”

“I don’t know,” Alec says, huffing a laugh. He finds himself trapped by Magnus’ gaze and can’t look away. “But I do know that you’re the only person keeping me grounded right now.”

Magnus’ lips part in surprise and he blinks twice at Alec. He looks stunned, but happily so, and Alec has a sudden urge to kiss the astonishment off his face.

Alec bites his lower lip and lets his gaze flicker over the man in front of him. Leaning closer, Magnus’ breath ghosts over Alec’s face, and there’s hardly any space between them now.

“Hey,” he says quietly, smiling softly, “I really liked kissing you the other day.”

Magnus’ expression morphs into something more sure, more self-confident, more like his usual demeanour around Alec. He smiles too. “Well, then it’s a good thing that I really liked kissing you, too,” he teases, dark eyes meeting Alec’s without blinking.

Alec can’t think straight, caught in Magnus’ gaze. He’s breathtakingly beautiful, the low light of the living room catching on the glitter under his eyes. Alec’s desire to kiss Magnus again is overwhelming, so he leans in slowly, watching the way Magnus’ eyelids drop shut and his head tilts to meet Alec’s lips and close the gap between them.

The kiss is light and searching at first, the two of them exploring each other with all the time in the world. Alec’s hands move to Magnus’ waist and he pulls him closer, pressing deeper into the kiss. Magnus’ hand cups his face, rings cool against his skin, and Alec feels so content he can hardly breathe.

They kiss lazily for a few minutes, Alec getting lost in the sensation of kissing Magnus and how good it feels to finally be able to be with him, until Magnus pulls away a little. Alec can’t help chasing his lips and steals another kiss, making Magnus grin.

“You know,” Magnus says quietly, his face still so close it’s making Alec dizzy, “I thought it’d be a long time before I found someone I’d want to be with after my last relationship. But then I met you.”

Alec’s breath catches in his throat, and he can’t help the bright smile that spreads onto his face. “You do know I’ve had a crush on you since the minute you moved in, right?”

Magnus beams at him, huffing out a small laugh, and Alec can’t resist pulling him back in for another kiss. This time, the flame grows into a wildfire, and their kisses go from gentle to heated, desperate, wanting. Magnus’ hands find Alec’s shoulders and nudge him back until he topples down against the couch cushions, and then _holy shit_ Magnus is crawling over him, his gaze flickering leisurely up Alec’s body.

He lowers himself over Alec, a movement that makes the muscles in his arms stand out, and the necklaces draped over his chest swing forward, enticing Alec. Their eyes meet as Alec slides his hands under Magnus’ shirt, feeling the dips and curves of his lower back, so much warm skin for him to touch.

Magnus’ eyes flutter closed and he eases himself down onto his forearms, closing the distance between them so he can kiss Alec again. The couch is pretty big, not big enough for the both of them to fit comfortably, but Alec can’t bring himself to care. His entire body feels too hot from months of sexual tension between the two of them, and exploring Magnus’ body like this is electrifying.

Alec runs his hands further under Magnus’ shirt, the firm muscles under his fingers dialling his attraction way up past a hundred. When Magnus bites on Alec’s lower lip, Alec can’t help shifting, letting his legs fall open more so Magnus’ body can slot in flush against his own with a gasp. Hearing the way Magnus moans in response makes his head spin, and having Magnus up against him like this is not helping his ability to think straight.

Magnus moves his mouth away from Alec’s, but before Alec can properly pout about the loss of Magnus’ lips, he’s moved to Alec’s neck, peppering it with open mouthed kisses.

 _Jesus_ , Alec thinks. _There’s no way he’s going to survive this._

When Magnus finds a spot that makes Alec’s toes curl and a whimper come out of his mouth, Magnus rolls his hips, too, and Alec feels his entire body react to the movement.

“Magnus,” he moans out, and he can feel Magnus smirk against the skin of his neck. Magnus tugs at the hem of Alec’s T-shirt and together they pull it over Alec’s head. He’s pretty sure it messes up his hair but Magnus doesn’t seem to mind, eyes flickering over Alec’s chest and then back up to Alec’s face, dark with longing.

Alec wants to put his hands everywhere, map out every inch of Magnus’ ridiculous body, and he thinks Magnus might feel the same, if the way he’s running his hands down Alec’s torso is anything to go by.

Their lips meet again and Alec decides he needs to get Magnus’ shirt off right now or else he might actually die. When he tugs on it, trying to show Magnus what he’s asking for, Magnus pulls away from their kiss and smiles. Alec is sure Magnus knows exactly what effect he’s having on him, that jerk, when he brushes his lips over Alec’s in a whisper of a kiss, but leans back before Alec can properly capture his lips, and murmurs, “Bedroom?”

Alec thought he’d never ask. He scrambles up from the couch as gracefully as he can with Magnus on top of him and pulls Magnus into his arms as soon as they’re up, not content to stop kissing him even for a second. They make their way to the bedroom, kisses melting into laughter as they get tangled up in each other.

He can’t believe how lucky he is that he finally gets to have Magnus in his arms as he pushes the bedroom door shut behind them.

When Alec lands on top of Magnus on his bed and gets his shirt off, it feels like, _finally_. He takes his time kissing indulgently down Magnus’ body and back up, feeling Magnus’ fingers curl in his hair as he moans Alec’s name. Alec hovers over Magnus’ chest, kissing softly over the place where his heart is. He lifts his head to meet Magnus’ eyes, then smiles and kisses over Magnus’ heart again.

Magnus tugs him upwards, strong arms hauling Alec over him.

“Alexander,” Magnus whispers in wonderment, hands wandering over Alec’s body. Alec realises that maybe he’s not the only one who’s been thinking about this moment for a long time, and he dips his head to kiss Magnus again.

Magnus drops one of his hands, ghosting it along Alec’s side and stroking up until he’s cupping Alec’s face, and Alec leans into the touch. He pulls back from kissing Magnus for the barest moment, just long enough to entwine their fingers, then claims his lips again, letting Magnus know that right here, right now, it’s the two of them. That’s all that matters.

___

_Alec slowly makes his way down the stairs, holding onto the railing like his mom told him to do. Someone in the kitchen is trying not to shout. Hushed harsh whispers that are making it impossible for Alec to go back to bed._

_“You know we can’t, Maryse. What if he finds out, huh? You know what he’s capable of,” Robert’s voice spits out._

_“Do you really think I’m that naive? Of course I know. But this - Robert this isn’t what I signed up for. Robert he’s just a_ boy _. And I ruined his life. I took everything from him,” Maryse says, and Alec can hear the thickness of her voice._

_“We did what we had to do. I won’t let you take the blame alone. We’re both at fault here, Maryse,” Robert says, softer this time._

_Alec stops at the bottom of the stairs and tiptoes to the doorframe of the kitchen, hiding out of sight._

_“He’s just a boy,” Maryse sobs, and Robert shushes her softly._

_“You really want to do this?” Robert asks._

_“What choice do we have? Remembering what he convinced me to do makes me feel filthy,” Maryse says, sighing. “You know we’re doomed anyway, Robert. What have we gotten ourselves into?”_

_“Don’t say that,” Robert says, his tone harsh and desperate. “We can’t lose hope, not now. We’ll get ourselves out of this.”_

_Maryse starts crying again, this time harder, and Alec feels his heart break. His mom is sad and he wants to help. He slowly steps into the light, rubbing at his right eye with his hand. Maryse and Robert are embracing, her head on his shoulder and his arms wrapped tightly around her._

_“Mom? Is everything okay?” Alec asks, and Maryse instantly straightens up, wiping at her eyes._

_“Alec, honey, why are you awake?” Maryse asks, trying to smile as Robert shuts his eyes, leaning against the kitchen counter._

_“Why are you crying?” Alec asks, avoiding her question. He doesn’t like that his mom is sad._

_“Oh, nothing baby, it’s nothing,” Maryse says, sitting down on the dining room chair slowly, her big baby bump in the way. Alec’s been so excited to get a brother, and even Izzy has started telling everyone about how she’s gonna be the best big sister ever._

_Alec just watches her with wide hazel eyes, and she grabs his hands, her eyes still shining with unshed tears._

_“Mommy’s just a little emotional lately thanks to baby Max,” Maryse says, putting one hand on her stomach and rubbing it affectionately._

_“Are you sure?” Alec asks, looking from her to Robert and back to his mother._

_“Yes, I promise,” Maryse says softly. She chews on her lip for a moment, as if having a mental debate with herself. “Alec, how would you feel about having another brother?”_

_“I’m already getting a brother,” Alec says, confused._

_“I know, yes,” Maryse says, but she swallows thickly and glances at Robert, before looking back at Alec. “I mean another one, a boy your sister’s age.”_

_Alec blinks, shrugging a shoulder. “Okay, what’s his name?”_

_Maryse smiles, looking once again like she might cry. “His name, darling, is Jace.”_

___

Alec walks down the corridor with purpose, trying to look as little as possible like he has no idea where he’s going. He’s only been to Idris Corp twice, and the first time he’d first been distracted by Magnus and his bright smile and energy as he’d shown Alec around where he works, and the second time he’d come to see Valentine and was a little preoccupied with everything he was finding out about his parents to pay much attention to where they were going.

Everything seems so labyrinthine, all the walls dark grey and bland. Alec wanders further down the corridor, wishing he’d at least thought to wear a blazer with his black jeans today so he could pass from a distance as someone wearing a suit. Even though it’s been quiet up here so far, he knows it’s likely only a matter of time before someone catches him.

He keeps his head down and takes a couple more paces before his luck runs out, but the voice that calls his name is intimately familiar to him.

“Alexander?”

Magnus’ voice is hushed but sure, and he strides along the corridor towards Alec, taking his arm and tugging him back the way they’d just come.

“What the hell are you doing up here?” Magnus asks, though he doesn’t seem angry at Alec, just concerned.

Magnus peers around and then moves them both along, opening a storage closet door about two paces from where they just rounded the corner. There’s a triangular warning label on the door but Alec barely has time to open his mouth to point this out before Magnus is bundling him into the space, following him inside and closing the door behind them.

“You can’t be here, Alec,” Magnus says furtively, his eyes wide and serious. “It’s a restricted research floor - if Valentine or one of the others sees you, they won’t just call security.”

Alec’s pulse kicks up at Magnus’ words. “I didn’t mean to be here,” he says. “I got lost.”

Magnus fixes him with a sharp look. It’s only when Magnus takes a minute to gather his thoughts, turning to the side to peer through a vent in the door, that Alec realises how close they are. Alec glances around the closet; shelves are pressing uncomfortably into his back and he can see more chemicals on the shelving behind Magnus. There’s barely an inch gap between them.

He leans forward and brushes his lips to the shell of Magnus’ ear. “I can’t believe you pushed me into a closet,” he says, grinning. “A little ironic, don’t you think?”

Magnus stills in front of Alec, then turns to him, clearly fighting a laugh. “I’m trying to keep you safe,” he says, punctuating it with a swat to the chest.

Alec licks his lips. “My hero,” he murmurs, not missing the way Magnus’ gaze dips to his lips and then back up again.

“Stop it,” Magnus admonishes, even as he’s wrapping his arms around Alec and tugging him against him. “Do you want to get caught up here?”

“No,” Alec says, then adds, “Sorry,” even though he knows he doesn’t particularly sound it. In this moment, he can’t bring himself to care about anything other than the fact that Magnus is _so close_ to him, and he looks so good in the rich purple shirt he’s wearing tucked into a smart pair of tailored pants, white lab coat over the top. His belt is a dark metallic grey that matches the sweep of liner on his eyelids and it’s really not fair that he expects Alec to be able to function with all that going on.

Alec can’t help leaning forward to press a kiss to the corner of Magnus’ mouth, just a soft brush of his lips that he thinks demonstrates an admirable amount of restraint, really, given the circumstances. Magnus clearly disagrees, if his eye roll is anything to go by.

“Alec,” Magnus says pointedly. Alec hums, dipping his head so he can mouth kisses along Magnus’ sharp jawline and then down his throat to the point where his lips hit Magnus’ shirt collar. _“Alec,”_ Magnus says again, breathlessly, this time.

Lifting his head, Alec pulls back just enough so he can meet Magnus’ eye. He swallows hard, pulling his mind back to the reason they’re in the closet in the first place.

“You were saying?” he manages, voice rough.

Magnus huffs out a laugh, his expression incredulous and fond and heated all at once, and then he’s kissing Alec, sliding his fingers into Alec’s hair and tugging.

Alec moans, tilting his head and deepening the kiss. He wants Magnus closer, wants to touch him, wants everything he can get. Magnus seems to understand - or maybe he feels the same, because his kisses grow harder, less careful, and his hands roam under Alec’s shirt, learning Alec’s body.

When Magnus presses forward against Alec, Alec stumbles back and the shelves jab painfully into his back.

“Ow,” he laughs, cringing, and Magnus laughs, too, against his mouth. He turns them so that Alec’s now up against the door in one seamless move, and Alec raises his eyebrows, but he doesn’t have time to say anything before Magnus’ lips are on his again, sparks shooting down his spine when Magnus’ tongue brushes against his.

Distantly aware of the fact that he can’t mess up Magnus’ expensive clothes too much, Alec doesn’t bother with trying to untuck Magnus’ shirt from his pants. Instead, he moves his hands over Magnus’ shoulders and back, relishing the feel of Magnus’ strong muscles under the fabric of his shirt, then slides them further down, gripping Magnus’ ass and shifting so they’re flush against each other.

At the movement, Magnus sucks in a shuddering breath that makes molten heat pool in Alec’s gut.

“Alex _ander_ ,” Magnus manages, sounding a little wrecked. He pulls back from Alec, watching him with dark eyes. Alec frowns and reaches for him again, when loud voices sound in the corridor outside the closet.

It’s like someone has just doused him with ice water. The two of them go absolutely still, Alec hardly daring to breathe. His heart is pounding frantically against his ribs, not in fear of getting caught with Magnus, but getting caught by Valentine.

Magnus watches him with wide eyes, his breath tickling Alec’s skin. His fingers inch forward until they brush against Alec’s wrist, the barest touch, and Alec closes his eyes, tipping his head back against the door.

He can’t make out what the people outside are saying, but their voices seem to be getting quieter. He feels Magnus relax ever so slightly after about thirty seconds, and then, after another few moments, they disentangle themselves from each other in wordless agreement.

While Alec straightens his shirt, Magnus watches him, nibbling on his lip.

“It’s a restricted floor,” Magnus starts, almost like he’s thinking aloud, “so people don’t come up here that much. I have clearance, so I should be able to get you to my office without anyone asking too many questions. From there you can just say that you came to visit me.”

Alec nods, infinitely grateful for Magnus’ smart thinking. He reaches out and squeezes Magnus’ hand.

“I trust you,” he says, smiling. Magnus’ lips quirk upwards and he regards Alec for a moment before he pulls him into a hug. Alec buries his face in Magnus’ neck, and when they break apart, he feels like he’s ready to take on anything.

After listening at the door for any signs of life outside, Magnus opens the door and the two of them leave the storage closet. Magnus takes his hand and leads him quickly down the corridor.

“Just here, on the left,” Magnus says. They go through an emergency exit that Magnus assures him won’t set the fire alarms off, which brings them to a set of stairs. They jog down several flights of stairs, coming out on the laboratory floor that Alec remembers from his first visit.

Magnus glances around surreptitiously, but the rest of the scientists are either absorbed in their work or don’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary about the sudden appearance of their boss.

Alec follows Magnus to an office with the name plate _Magnus Bane, PhD, Head of Research and Development,_ on the door, and he can’t but help be impressed. Magnus isn’t that much older than him, but he’s already studied so much and worked so hard to be at a position of seniority in a well-respected company.

He’s awe-inspiring.

Magnus bustles around to his desk and gestures for Alec to sit down. Alec glances around; the design of Magnus’ office is fairly neutral, in keeping with the rest of Idris Corp, but there are little personal touches of Magnus all over the room. There are numerous photos of Magnus with his friends and family, some with an older woman Alec assumes is Magnus’ mother, another with a group of young teenagers - Alec recognises Raphael, despite the age difference between the photo and seeing him in person, but he’s not sure who the black girl or white guy with Magnus and Raphael are.

Magnus falls gracefully into his desk chair with a sigh of relief. He rubs at his temples with one hand, eyes closed.

“We’re never doing that again,” he says, but he’s smiling the tiniest bit, and Alec can’t help wondering if secretly he enjoyed the thrill.

“Hey,” Alec says, leaning forward to take Magnus’ free hand over the desk, “we’re okay. We made it, and no one found out.”

A knock at the door startles them both, Alec dropping Magnus’ hand, and the door opens before Magnus can permit them to enter. A burly security man dressed head to toe in black steps into the room.

“Dr Bane,” the man says, “have you noticed anyone suspicious wandering around your floor today?”

Magnus’ gaze doesn’t move off the man. He shrugs easily, curling his lip. “No,” he says levelly. “Why?”

The man shifts on his feet, and Alec sees the unnatural movement of the man’s jacket over a badly hidden gun as he does so. He pulls his eyes away immediately, wringing his fingers in his lap and focussing on Magnus.

“Just a routine check of whether the security of the building had been compromised,” the man says. He pauses, clears his throat, and Magnus’ eyes dart to Alec for the first time since the security guard arrived.

“Alec’s a law student, not a security risk, Conrad,” Magnus says, sounding amused. “Unless what you’re about to say is highly confidential, you can talk in front of him.”

Conrad coughs again. “There were signs of an intruder on the cross-genetics floor,” he says. Alec’s mind whirrs - that was where Valentine had taken him on Alec’s first visit. That was where he’d been bitten.

Magnus hums. “Perhaps if security did their job of guarding the restricted floors,” he begins pleasantly, “instead of wasting my time with inane questions, intruders wouldn’t be able to get access to the cross-genetics research wing.”

Conrad huffs. “Sorry for bothering you, Dr Bane.”

Still watching Magnus, Alec can see the moment Conrad leaves reflected in Magnus’ expression; his hard, professional demeanour drops away and he turns to Alec, his face softening.

“You should probably go,” he says, with a regretful smile.

“Yeah,” Alec says immediately, nodding. “I don’t want to get you into trouble. Besides,” he adds, with a glance towards the busy labs outside, “I’m sure you have a lot to do.”

Magnus sighs, then nods. “I do.”

Alec stands up from his chair at the same time as Magnus, who crosses the room to show Alec out. With the door ajar, Alec catches Magnus’ hand.

“Hey,” Alec says softly, “thank you.”

Magnus smiles at him. “All in a day’s work, I guess,” he teases. “Are you going to talk to Valentine?”

Alec nods. “I need to see him and see if he can help me make sense of all of this,” he says, shrugging helplessly. Magnus rests his free hand on Alec’s arm, nodding in understanding.

“I get it,” he says. “You’ll find his office on the 44th floor. Just please be careful. He’s a dangerous man.”

“I will,” Alec says, squeezing Magnus’ hand. “I’ll call you later?”

Magnus kisses Alec’s cheek. “I’ll look forward to it,” he says, smiling. Alec leaves Magnus’ office with a little wave, ready to find Valentine and determined to get some answers.

___

Alec makes his way through the building with a little more ease, since he knows approximately where Magnus’ office is. He makes a beeline for the stairs as soon as possible so that he doesn’t run into Izzy. He doesn’t need any more distractions.

He climbs up the stairs to 44th floor, and walks down the hall. Valentine’s office is surrounded by glass, which Alec thinks is a little ironic due to the amount of shady things Valentine is trying to hide. He also notices that the door is locked and the office is empty. Alec decides to wait outside the door to be polite even though his body is thrumming at the thought of seeing Valentine again. Luke’s words echo in his mind:

_He’s not a good man._

“Mr Lightwood?” Alec turns quickly, spotting Valentine, who looks confused at Alec’s surprise visit.

“Hi, Valentine,” Alec says with a smile and a curt nod. Valentine is dressed down, in a beat up sweater and army green jeans. It doesn’t seem like proper workplace attire.

Valentine must pick up on Alec’s gaze and he straightens up a little. “I took a day off. I’m here to pick up something for my research. What are you doing here?”

Alec lets himself really study Valentine for a second, and he can tell by the bags under his eyes that Valentine hasn’t been sleeping well at all. In fact, it looks like Valentine has seen a ghost.

“I saw the news the other day with the creature on the bridge, and it sparked a debate in one my classes about genetic modification of animals and the law,” Alec says, feeling weird about how quickly he got so good at lying in front of certain people. “I’m just curious about the legal side of all of this.”

Valentine’s posture stiffens, and Alec can see him biting back whatever he wants to say.

Then, in a flash, it’s like everything’s okay, and Valentine smiles weakly at him.

“Come inside, then,” Valentine says, opening the door to his office and leading the way in.

Alec follows, suddenly feeling uneasy about being in a room with Valentine. “I know my mom was a lawyer in this area since she worked for you and this is your field.”

“Is there an actual question you have for me, Alec?” Valentine says, shuffling through the papers on his desk and picking up a folder.

“Well,” Alec says, shifting on his feet, “can you tell me anything about the creature on the bridge?”

It was a safe bet, Alec decided earlier on that day, asking Valentine about something he’s knowledgeable in and could actually provide some intel in for Alec would ease Valentine into maybe talking about Alec’s parents and the Shadowhunters. Despite how unsure Alec is of Valentine as a whole, there’s no doubt that the man is smart and knows his science.

Valentine freezes, looking up at Alec and blinking slowly.

“The unclassified creature on the bridge is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” Valentine says, his jaw tense. He looks back down and continues looking through the folder.

 _Okay_ , Alec thinks, _this is uncomfortable._

“I mean,” Alec says, trying again, “people are saying it’s unstoppable. And if it’s the result of some kind of science experiment gone wrong - it still needs to have a weakness, doesn’t it?”

“Why the sudden interest?” Valentine bites, looking up at him and glaring.

Alec is a little taken aback but simply shakes his head with a shrug, “I’m just curious. A creature like that needs to be stopped, and if you might know something, ya know, maybe it can help the police track him.”

Valentine looks thrown off by the statement, breathing heavily. He puts the folder in his bag and pushes his sweater sleeves up his arms.

“I don’t know, Alec,” Valentine says, trying to keep his voice level. “But I’m sure that if threatened, that _thing_ might get extremely aggressive.”

Alec gets chills from the way Valentine says the words through his teeth. He opens his mouth, about to segway into mentioning the Shadowhunters smoothly, when he notices a flash of black peeking through Valentine’s sweater.

“Is that a tattoo?” Alec asks.

Valentine blinks out of his daze and looks down to where Alec’s eyes are and he nods, lifting the sleeve up to give Alec a better look at it.

“It’s an angelic rune. It was the symbol for me and your parent’s research.”

When Alec looks at it fully, memories flash in his mind of when he’s seen it before. But the placement of the tattoo is uncanny, and when he looks back up at Valentine, at his empty evil eyes and his calculated grin, he knows without a doubt that the beast on the bridge was none other than Valentine Morgenstern.

“Oh,” Alec breathes out, feeling like he’s choking, the walls closing in around him.

This man tried to murder people in cold blood. Not only did he test on humans for his research, but he has no problems with death. He’s a man who thinks casualties are just on the road to victory.

And Alec trusted him. Maybe briefly, but he did. And once upon a time, his parents did too. It feels like a slap to the face, like cold water was poured over his head, and Alec can’t help but just gape at Valentine - the _monster_.

“I think it’s best if you leave now,” Valentine says after the pregnant pause, pulling his sweater sleeves back down and gesturing to the door. “I need to look up one more thing and I’d rather be alone when I do it.”

“Yeah, okay,” Alec says, but his mind is going a mile a minute. He walks out of Valentine’s office and into an emptier hallway, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.

Valentine is a lot more dangerous than Alec had known, and now it’s up to Alec to take him down.

___

“Don’t worry, Alexander, she’s gonna love you,” Magnus says, smoothing down Alec’s denim shirt with one hand. Alec’s gaze shifts to the quaint little house and he gulps, trying to wipe his sweaty palms on his pants.

Magnus had invited Alec to meet his mother a few days ago, after they became official boyfriends. It’s a little childish of Alec to get so giddy off of the word, but knowing Magnus is his boyfriend, and they are together - like _together together_ \- well, it kind of feels like Alec is living in the best dream of his life.

Unfortunately, Alec isn’t just an average guy. After his recent discovery of Valentine’s true identity and malicious core, it’s taken Alec some time to be able to breathe. His gut reaction was to tell Magnus, but he’s been swamped with work, and Alec didn’t feel like it was something to be told over text. Besides, Magnus is intelligent and sensible, and he knows to proceed with caution. That’s enough.

As for tonight, well, Alec can’t ruin this. Magnus has been so excited to introduce Alec to his mom, saying he hasn’t brought anyone home since his terrible ex-girlfriend, and that Alec is someone he thinks his mom will actually like. Seeing the light in Magnus’ eyes and the flush of his cheeks, Alec can’t deny him an evening away from all the Spiderman drama Alec has dragged him into.

“Alec?” Magnus asks, pulling Alec out of his thoughts. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about what’s bothering you?

The concern in Magnus voice makes Alec’s heart clench tightly and Alec smiles in response. “I’ll tell you later, I promise.”

“We can reschedule if it’s -”

“ _Magnus_ ,” Alec says affectionately. He prays Magnus’ mom isn’t peeking through the window at them on the street as Alec grabs Magnus’ hand with his free one, holding a large bouquet of vibrant flowers in his left hand, and intertwining their fingers. “I’m okay, really. Actually, I just wanna forget about everything and spend time with you. I’m excited to meet your mom, and try the famous rendang you’ve told me about.”

Magnus seems to get the hint and eyes Alec for a moment before smiling, chewing on his bottom lip.

Alec takes a deep breath, looking back at the house down the path. It’s dimly lit in dusk’s rays of light, and it looks inviting and warm. Alec feels a twinge of nerves as he regards the house, though, because Magnus’ mom is inside. She’s so important to Magnus, and Alec knows that if he doesn’t impress her - or at least convince her that he only wants to make her son happy - it could put a question mark over his relationship with Magnus.

They walk down the path, Magnus tugging a very stiff and nervous Alec towards the door with a soft laugh before ringing the doorbell. They wait outside for Magnus’ mom to answer, and Alec is turning to look at Magnus as a last chance for a confidence boost when he notices something on Magnus’ ear.

“Is that...?” Alec asks, his eyes wide in awe as Magnus turns to him with a curious look before smiling broadly, letting go of Alec’s hand to fiddle with the spider web ear cuff adorning his left ear.

“It’s quite fitting, don’t you think?” Magnus teases playfully, and Alec can’t help but beam, lacing his hand around Magnus’ waist and tugging him into a sweet kiss.

Of course, Alec’s luck runs out just at that moment, and it’s in the middle of the kiss when Magnus’ mom decides to open the door.

“Oh,” she says, and Alec hastily pulls back from Magnus, looking at Magnus’ mom with wide eyes.

“Sorry,” he says immediately, glancing to Magnus, who’s watching him with a highly amused expression.

“Mama,” Magnus says, stepping forward and sweeping his mom into a tight hug. “I missed you.”

When they part, Magnus holds his hand out to indicate Alec, and Alec smiles at Magnus’ mom. It feels a little forced, because he can’t believe how close he came to blowing this whole thing before he’d even managed to say anything, but Alec relaxes slightly when Magnus slips his hand into Alec’s and squeezes.

“Mama, this is Alec,” Magnus says. “Alec, this is my mom.”

The woman standing in front of them is about the same height as Izzy. She’s wearing a peach headscarf and has rounded cheeks and dark eyes that are regarding Alec warmly.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Ms Bane,” Alec says, smiling more easily. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Here,” he adds, holding out the flowers for her to take, “these are for you.”

It’s not just a line; Alec _has_ heard a lot about Magnus’ mom. He talks about her a lot, updating Alec when he comes back from visiting her - Alec knows the saga of the annoying neighbour across the road who has too many dogs, and he knows about the charming boy on the till at the store Magnus’ mom goes to who always gives her compliments, and he knows that her favourite flowers are sunflowers, because summer is her favourite season.

Magnus has mentioned Alec meeting his mom a couple of times before; his other friends all know her. Having grown up with Raphael, he’s like a second son to Magnus’ mom, and Ragnor has met her several times, too, apparently. In some ways, it makes this easier - even with how seamlessly they slot into each other’s lives, it’s probably a little too early to do the ‘meet the parents’ thing - but now that they are actually dating, Alec does feel added pressure.

He wants this to go well so badly, for all of them.

“Thank you, Alec,” she says. Ms Bane’s eyes soften slightly as she turns her gaze to Magnus. “Magnus mentions you a lot, too,” she says, her smile turning fondly teasing. “His handsome neighbour - I _was_ starting to wonder when he’d finally ask you out.”

“Mama,” Magnus says loudly, the tips of his ears a little pink, “shall we go inside?”

Magnus’ mom hides her laughter as she moves down the hallway into the house. Alec follows Magnus into the house and shuts the door carefully behind him. He takes his time to admire the decor in the hallway while he takes his shoes off, especially entranced by a picture of a very young Magnus and his mom standing on the sideboard by the door.

Magnus catches Alec looking at it and huffs a laugh.

“I think I was about four when that picture was taken,” he says, smiling softly. “We hadn’t been living in this house very long. Mom always says I’d been begging her to take me to the beach for ages, and finally the first warm day of summer came around. I ran down to the sea all excited and it was _freezing_ when I hit the water.”

Alec can’t help laughing at the image of a tiny Magnus, bouncing up and down and bounding down to the water, then getting the shock of the cold New York water.

“Mom says my face was a picture. We spent the rest of the day at the beach, but I didn’t go swimming again for a while.”

“That’s so cute,” Alec murmurs, still smiling. Magnus looks at him, open and vulnerable for a moment, before he shakes himself and nods down the hallway.

“Come on, I’ll show you around,” he says, holding his hand out to Alec.

After Magnus has given him a tour of the downstairs, they make their way to the kitchen, where Magnus’ mom is humming along to the radio while she arranges her flowers in an intricate glass vase. There’s tea on the table and Alec’s heart flutters when Magnus pulls the chair out for him before he sits down.

Magnus mom’ comes to join them at the table, asking how their journey was. One of Alec’s hands taps against his thigh under the table and he sips his tea with the other, hoping neither Magnus nor his mom can tell how nervous he is.

“So, Alec,” Magnus’ mom says, turning her sunny smile to him, “Magnus tells me you’re going to be a lawyer.”

Alec nods, swallowing his tea hastily and putting the cup down. Magnus’ foot knocks gently against his shin under the table and when Alec glances his way momentarily, Magnus sends him a reassuring smile.

“Yes,” Alec says, turning back to Magnus’ mom. “I graduate from my master’s this summer. I’ve got my finals coming up, actually.”

“What made you choose law?” Magnus’ mom asks, missing the look of alarm Magnus sends her.

Alec glances down at the table, losing his breath momentarily. “My mom was a lawyer,” he says, then looks back up. Magnus’ mom’s face creases with sympathy, but Alec forces a smile. “She worked for Idris Corp, actually.”

“Oh?” Magnus’ mom’s face brightens a little.

Alec nods. “So did my dad,” he adds. “Anyway, mom and I were really close when I was little and she used to talk about me becoming a lawyer when I grew up. I wanted to make her proud, I guess.”

“I’m sure she would be,” Magnus’ mom says, smiling sadly. Then, with a twinkle in her eye, she adds, “And I know Magnus is very proud of you, too.”

She continues asking Alec simple, interested questions about his life, which Alec is grateful for - they’re easy to answer and make him feel more relaxed than he has since they arrived. He catches sight of Magnus watching the pair of them fondly from across the table and his heart skips a beat knowing he’s making Magnus happy.

By the time they start eating, Alec feels like he’s known Magnus’ mom for ages. Over dinner, she starts telling him stories about Magnus’ childhood, much to Alec’s joy and Magnus’ embarrassment. His favourite is the story of how, when Raphael was seven, he’d been playing in the Banes’ back yard and got stuck up a tree, so nine year old Magnus had climbed up and helped him down with kind encouragement.

“My little hero,” Magnus’ mom says affectionately, smiling at Magnus. Something warm bursts in Alec’s chest at the sight and he watches them with a swirl of emotion - happiness, comfort, and a trace of nostalgic longing.

“Mm, talking of heroes,” Magnus says, lighting up with glee as he looks at Alec, “did you see Spiderman on the news the other night, mama?”

Magnus’ mom laughs, unaware as Alec pulls a face at Magnus across the table. “I did,” she says, fiddling absently with one of the rings adorning her fingers, “and I think he’s doing a great job of protecting our city, but I admire him even more for giving the kids on my ward hope. You know they’ve started requesting Spiderman everything - posters, band aids, stuffed toys?” She smiles. “He’s a good man.”

Alec feels his face grow hot at the praise and Magnus sends him a knowing grin full of affection.

After dinner, they sit down in the living room and Magnus’ mom brings out the old photo albums. Alec’s never really done the whole being taken home to meet the parents thing, and even though it’s been on the cards since he and Magnus were just friends, he can tell there’s an extra element of delight to every smile Magnus’ mom sends his way because she knows he and Magnus are together.

There’s a brief moment of awkwardness when Magnus turns a page in the album and lands on a photo of him sitting on the shoulders of a man Alec assumes is his father. Magnus squeezes his mom’s hand and she moves onto another photo, launching into another story.

Having met Magnus’ mom, Alec can totally see where Magnus gets his passion and flair for storytelling and his drive to help people from. They fit together so well, an easy familiarity and loving kindness between them, and sitting in the warmth of the house, Alec forgets almost completely about Valentine and the darkness of his past coming to haunt him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **tw** for mentions of human torture 
> 
> writing lowlights of ch7:  
> 
> 
>   * im RESEARCHING like a GOOD WRITER - charl, while narrowly avoiding a visit from the NSA
>   * “ok i'm here 2 write n cry” - elle 2017 (she was lying, she wasn’t there)
>   * “he an achy boy” - elle about alec
> 

> 
> thank u to ceci for beta'ing! <3

Even though going to Magnus’ mom’s house was a welcome distraction, it doesn’t take much for Alec to start thinking about the Valentine situation again when he gets back. Everything is piling up on him and he doesn’t know who to turn to - but he thinks he might know who to share it with. After talking about it with Magnus, they’ve both exhausted every possible idea they have on the subject, so Alec wants to get a new perspective from someone else he’s starting to trust.

After class, Alec heads to the police precinct where Luke works, and he waits in the reception area with jittery fingers tapping a random tune on his thigh for Luke to appear. Luke looks more tired than he had last time Alec had seen him, but he still smiles when he catches sight of Alec.

“Come through,” Luke says, leading Alec to the same office they went to last time. Raphael is waiting in Luke’s office when they arrive, and Luke shuts the door as he speaks. “You said you had something to tell us about Hodge’s case?”

Alec nods and shrugs all at once. “I mean, kind of.” He rubs at his eye with his fingers, sighing. “I have information about Valentine Morgenstern.”

Luke’s eyebrows rise and he shares a brief glance with Raphael before pulling out his notepad and pen. “Go on.”

Alec takes a deep breath. “Okay, you know the incident on the Brooklyn Bridge the other night?” he starts. “The creature, the thing that was on the bridge - it was Valentine.”

There’s a pin drop silence following Alec’s words and Luke and Raphael’s expressions are a picture. Luke’s eyebrows have climbed impressively far up his forehead and Raphael, who Alec has never seen pull any expression beyond disdain or mild amusement, looks completely incredulous.

“It was Valentine?” Luke repeats, as if checking he heard correctly. Alec nods, eyes flicking to Luke. 

Raphael blinks twice. “Valentine Morgenstern?” he asks. “Magnus’ boss, the respected scientist and businessman who invests in sustainability, turned himself into a monster and decided to terrorise a bunch of people on Brooklyn Bridge?”

Alec swallows. “I know it sounds crazy, but -”

“What do you think this is, Alec?” Raphael asks. “A comic book? A dumb Marvel movie?” He looks at Alec like he’s a complete idiot. “This is  _ real life _ . People don’t just -”

Luke holds up his hand, cutting Raphael off. “Alec, you asked me before if I thought the creature on the bridge had anything to do with Morgenstern’s work - now you’re saying it’s Morgenstern himself. What’s made you change your mind?”

“Wait, Luke, you don’t actually believe this?” Raphael asks, turning to his superior with wide eyes. 

Luke shoots him a glance. “I’m willing to hear him out,” he says levelly. “Morgenstern isn’t a good man. Between us, I can see him being behind something like this.”

Raphael scoffs and crosses his arms, but he focuses on Alec nonetheless. Alec looks between the two of them, then shrugs. He has no clue how to explain everything - he can tell Luke about the angelic rune connection between the experiments and human trials Valentine had run and the tattoo he has, but how is he going to explain knowing that the creature on the bridge had the same mark?

“Valentine has a tattoo on his forearm,” Alec says. He gestures to Luke. “It’s the angelic rune. I saw some footage from the bridge and the creature had the same mark in exactly the same place, but it’s not a natural marking.”

“Oh, you’re a wildlife expert, now?” Raphael snarks, and Luke throws him a warning glance.

“Do you have any evidence?” Luke asks Alec. “My personal feelings aside, if all you have is a mark that, frankly, you could be mistaken about, having seen it second hand on video footage…” Luke sighs. “I’m sorry, Alec. I know this case is important to you. But I’m a police captain. That’s not enough.”

Alec deflates and shakes his head. He knew it was a long shot, having Luke and Raphael believe him, especially as he can’t tell them the whole story. 

Raphael exhales harshly across the room. “Well, thank you for the entertainment, but I should probably get back to work.” He crosses the room with quick strides, then pauses with his hand on the doorknob, glancing out into the bullpen. “Oh, look! The Hulk just arrived for me to take his statement.”

Alec rolls his eyes, unamused.

“Sir,” Raphael nods, before departing. Luke watches him go, then turns back to Alec.

“Like I said, I  _ know  _ it seems crazy,” Alec stresses, before Luke can say anything. “But I swear, it’s him.” 

Luke steeples his fingers and inhales slowly. “I believe you,” he says, and Alec feels a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, “but I can’t do anything with the word of a college student who watched a video online.” Luke shakes his head, smiling sympathetically. 

Alec nods. “Your hands are tied,” he says. “I get it.” He picks up his school bag and makes to stand up, but Luke stops him before he can leave.

“I was actually about to call you,” Luke says, “but since you’re here, I can tell you in person.”

Alec straightens in his seat. “What is it?”

Luke sighs. “It’s Blackwell,” he says. “His body was found in the early hours of the morning.”

Alec’s heart stops in his chest, and his jaw drops. 

Blackwell is dead. 

The reason he became Spiderman was to find Blackwell and avenge Hodge’s passing. But he can’t even do that now. He lost his opportunity, getting too caught up in family drama. 

Alec falls back in his seat and blinks. “Huh.” 

“I’m sorry,” Luke says, and Alec thinks both of them don’t really know what Luke is sorry for, but Alec appreciates the sentiment. 

“It’s - it’s just a lot to process,” Alec says. 

Now he’ll never really know the motive behind Hodge’s death. He’ll never get to look Blackwell in the eyes and make him talk, tell Alec who he worked for and why he was set to take away Alec’s last parent. 

Spiderman is so much more than just a man who hunts for one killer now. He’s a hero who saves multiple people because he’s been gifted with extra powers. Alec knows this. But the fact that the one mission that started Spiderman couldn’t be completed - well. It feels like a knife twisting in Alec’s gut. 

“I’ll go get you some water,” Luke says, standing up, and Alec blinks himself back to reality. 

___

Alec’s completely on edge, and he doesn’t like it. With his new revelations about Valentine, and the serious guilt he feels for trusting him, Alec doesn’t really know what to do next. Should he wait around for Valentine’s monster form to come back around again? And how long will that be? Alec was never good at just sitting around and doing nothing, but he’s got no leads. His only upper hand is that he knows Valentine’s secret, but Valentine doesn’t know his. 

Ideally, Alec would like it to stay that way. 

Alec also has a rooted fear that Valentine could attack while at Idris. Alec doesn’t know how this monster works, and whether or not Valentine has any control over it. But even if there’s a slight possibility, he needs to know Izzy and Magnus are safe. 

He’d texted Izzy earlier that morning to ask if he could meet her after work, to which she had happily agreed to. If that’s an extra layer of protection Alec can offer her without telling her the entire truth, then so be it.

It’s getting beyond complicated to keep only certain things from his sister and brother. It’s why Magnus is such an anchor for Alec right now. He needs to tell him right away, and he thinks their planned date night tonight will be the perfect opportunity. 

Alec walks out of the store he’s in and walks the extra three blocks to Idris, his mind elsewhere, trying to put together the information he has and reflect on it. Now that Blackwell is dead, which still makes Alec’s jaw set, Alec can focus all his attention on taking down Valentine. 

When he reaches Idris Corp, he waits in the lobby for Izzy to arrive. The projection above is showing a peaceful sunset, making the entire area glow in orange and yellow hues. 

Alec checks his watch and sighs. She’s running five minutes late, and Alec has to pee  _ really _ fucking bad. One would think that getting superhuman powers would also increase the size of his bladder, but that’s not true at all. 

“Excuse me,” he says to the lady behind the desk, her blonde hair tucked into a neat ponytail, “where’s the restroom?” 

“Take the stairs down one flight and it’ll be immediately on your right,” she replies, not even glancing up to look at Alec. 

“Thanks,” Alec says, finding the nearest stairwell and walking to it. He finds the bathrooms easily, and after he goes and walks back into the staircase, he notices that there are still more stairs going down. This is an opportunity to dig at Idris, without the Spiderman persona. He can blame it on getting lost in the building, and knows that for the most part, he’d have an alibi. 

Alec curses at himself and his curiosity and shoots Izzy an apology text telling her to go home as he descends down the stairs. The floor below him is the boiler room, Alec notices when he peers down the hall. Nothing feels too out of the ordinary when he takes a minute to glance around. The level below that is just a level for the ventilation system, but the interesting part is the locked gate that prevents him from going down more stairs. 

There’s a sign on the gate that says  _ DO NOT TRESPASS _ . Beyond the gate there’s a door, and Alec can see it’s steel and hard and looks a little heavy. He looks up and notices that the gate blocking him off doesn’t reach the ceiling, and when doing a quick scan, Alec doesn’t spot any cameras around. He keeps his ears on hyper alert in case someone comes down the stairs, before shooting a web up to the ceiling and hoisting himself off the ground and over the fence in a soft landing on the other side. 

Alec readjusts the straps of his backpack and makes his way towards the door. He presses his ear against the cool surface, listening for any movement on the other side. When he hears none, he grabs the handle and tugs as hard as he can, the door opening very slowly. 

Alec slips inside as soon as he can, and surveys his surroundings. 

He’s in a weird lab of some sort, that seems to lead into stone tunnels. There’s a desk set up with 4 monitors on it, and there’s a camera on a tripod towards the side of the room, set up and ready to shoot. It’s messy, as if the last person who left here rushed out in a hurry. 

Approaching the desk, Alec notices multiple empty syringes. There are some unreadable scrap papers thrown across the desk, numbers that mean little to nothing to Alec. He wonders how many people have access to this room. Why is it so dimly lit and closed off? 

There’s an open tab on the lower left monitor, and Alec narrows his eyes, moving the mouse and clicking on it. 

A video pops up, and sitting in a leather desk chair in what Alec assumes is right in this room, is Valentine.  

He looks, well frankly, a lot like he did when Alec last saw him. Valentine’s cheeks have hollowed out, and his skin paled, making his eyes striking and aggressive. Alec can barely recognize him from the man Alec met a few months ago. 

Alec glances at the door and sits down in the same leather chair that’s in the video before hitting the play button on the video. 

_ “Subject: Dr Valentine Morgenstern. Current temperature: eighty nine point seven, steady for forty eight hours. Blood panels reveal lymphocyte and monocyte readings consistent with subject's past. Clotting rate vastly improved, marked enhancement in - in muscle response, strength and elasticity. This is about finding perfection. In attempt to regress regenerative relapse, dosage has been increased to two hundred milligrams.” _

At the end of the video, Alec watches Valentine inject himself with a syringe. The Valentine on the screen starts blinking rapidly, then dry heaving, before a roar echoes in the video and it cuts to black. 

Alec can feel himself shaking, because even though he knew it was Valentine after matching his tattoo to the monster’s, having it confirmed like this means that maybe Alec can stop Valentine before it’s too late. 

He shuffles through his backpack and finds the empty USB he carries around just in case. It’s attached to his school ID lantern though, and he reminds himself that he needs to be careful to not forget it here. 

Alec plugs the USB in and instantly starts downloading the video, closing his eyes for a moment and breathing. He’s going to have evidence, and right now that’s all he can hope for. 

The video is taking its sweet time uploading, and it gives Alec an opportunity to scan the room for any other sort of evidence he can find. That’s when he spots a single door on the far wall, and can’t help but get up to inspect it. There’s a small glass window on the door, and when Alec gets close enough, he peers inside, and the sight makes his heart stop. 

It’s the abrupt ends of a tunnel that makes a perfect closed off room, and inside are six cages with people lying in them. On the cage closest to the door, Alec can see a piece of paper with the name Dot Rollins and some notes. This is Magnus’ friend, Alec thinks eerily. The same one Magnus couldn’t get a hold of. It says she’s been injected a total of three times, and at the bottom, in Valentine’s scrawny writing, Alec reads:  _ Species wide distribution could enhance humanity on an evolutionary scale. _

Alec feels sick to his stomach. Valentine is still experimenting on people, and keeping them in vile conditions. Alec can’t wrap his head around it, and just as he makes his way to open the door and help these people escape, he feels footsteps that are too close for comfort. 

Someone’s coming - Alec needs to hide, right now. He sees an ajar door to his left and a toilet inside, and Alec runs to get his backpack and runs inside the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and breathing heavily. 

He has to make a quick decision quickly, and when Alec sees the embroidered spider from his costume in his bag, he knows what he has to do. 

Minutes later, when Alec has officially changed to Spiderman, he leans against the door to listen for any outside movements. The entrance door opens and shuts, and after that it’s total silence. Alec holds his breath, but there’s nothing. 

The silence is almost deafening to Alec. He could hear the footsteps of a mouse right now, but he can’t hear a thing. 

Alec can feel his stomach churning, and he counts to ten in his head before slowly and as quietly as possible opening the door. 

Alec is practically crouching, opening the door wider when he doesn’t see anything. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a movement, and within a flash, Alec notices that he’s not alone. Valentine has transformed into his beast form, like a demented version between a wolf and a human, and his eyes are dark and unrecognizable. 

Behind the mask, Alec’s eyes flash to the tattoo, and just as he’s about to react, Valentine roars and gets a clawed hand around Alec’s head, throwing him against the wall forcefully. Alec can feel the hit vibrating in his bones, and he tries to get up, his brain telling him to get the fuck out of there, but his body is in unbelievable pain just from one blow. 

Valentine lifts him up carelessly and Alec’s body reacts almost instantly, thrashing away and getting a good punch to Valentine’s tough jaw. Alec thinks the hit hurt him more than Valentine, but Valentine is still pissed as hell about it. He tries to claw at Alec’s head, but Alec ducks as Valentine swings his arms. 

He seems more monster than man, and Alec thinks back to Magnus’ question that day in Valentine’s home:  _ How much would the foreign species take over?  _

Alec thinks that whatever screwed up genetic mutation Valentine injected himself with, it’s taking over his mind. Maybe not his motives, but the beast is reckless in a way Valentine the man isn’t. There’s a reason Valentine’s testing on humans and shady court cases flew so under the radar, he knew how to cover his tracks. This monster, Alec thinks, would kill everyone in this city slowly and painfully if it had to. 

Valentine gets frustrated, backing Alec up through the tunnels as Alec tries his best to escape. If this is the New York sewer system, then all he has to find is an opening. 

Alec doesn’t notice the end of the tunnel, his body still aching and uncoordinated due to the earlier impact with the wall, and he’s a little focused on not dying, that he falls backwards down the sewer chamber. 

He quickly shoots a web to the ceiling, preventing him from cracking his spine in half, but Valentine still has the upper hand, and Alec is hooked on the web for barely a second before Valentine leaps at him and snatches him off of it and onto the cement. There’s water all around them, but Alec can barely focus - can barely think. All he has right now is his instinct to survive. 

Valentine presses Alec to the ground and Alec is trying to figure out what to  _ do _ . The water is flowing to this giant hole in the center of the chamber, and Alec has to shoot a web so he doesn’t end up tumbling down a well to an unknown place. Valentine is holding Alec down with one giant clawed hand, his calf pinning Alec’s other arm down and useless. He’s practically a limp body right now, and Alec can feel his mind going a mile a minute to try and figure something out. 

Slowly, Valentine leans one hand forward to try and take the mask off, and Alec pushes his head to the side in protest. He can see the monster’s giant pointy teeth, and his shoulder width is about the length of Alec’s torso. 

Just for a moment, Alec thinks that he might die. Valentine could rip off his mask and stick one claw through his heart and kill him. 

Then, as if by miracle, Valentine’s knee moves slightly, and Alec takes the opportunity to grip Valentine’s massive wrist in one hand and push it downwards and away from his face. 

“You’ve stopped me once,” Valentine says, his voice an octave lower than usual. “You won’t stop me again. I’m getting stronger every day!” 

Alec watches with shock, as Valentine’s claws grow before his eyes and dig into the skin of Alec’s torso. Alec screams, unable to help it, when the sharp talons scratch at his chest. It burns like fire, and Alec knows if he didn’t have his hand on Valentine’s wrist, he’d 100% be dead. 

Valentine seems to smirk in satisfaction, Alec’s hand shaking with unease. He’s so much weaker than he was an hour ago, and the webbing Alec was using to keep him from diving head first into the sewer well snaps, sending both him and Valentine into the giant hole, giving both of them just a mere second to get a gulp of air. 

Valentine tries to keep a grip on Alec, but Alec uses the last bit of strength he has and channels it on getting out of here alive. He shoves Valentine away, grunting as his injured torso aches in protest.  

Underwater, it feels like Alec can get away. They reach the bottom of the tunnel, and when Valentine only has a loose grip on Alec’s arm, Alec takes the opportunity to swim up a little and kick Valentine in the jaw, swimming through one of the adjacent tunnels. 

It gives him only a moment to swim ahead, but it’s enough, and when Alec sees the three bars ahead, he swims faster, using it as a light at the end of the tunnel to guide him. 

When he chances a look back, Valentine isn’t too far behind, but he’s also not close. Alec’s heart is racing, his chest wounded and sore. The water tension is getting tighter, and Alec breaks one of the loose bars when he gets to them, making a slight entrance only he can get through as the water propels him forward. 

Alec looks back down when he’s in the tighter underpass, and sees that Valentine can’t get past the bars, only one giant hand clawing for Alec. He barely has time to feel relief, because the current is stronger than he’d anticipated, and it launches Alec from one tunnel to the other. He sees light and tries to swim to it, but it’s impossible. The water flow is too strong, and he’s too weak to make any sort of webbing. 

It smacks him against the walls of the sewer system like he’s a limp rag doll, until finally he slides down some sort of water slide, and he takes a breath full of air, practically choking from how long he’s been holding his breath, his lungs burning. Alec crawls towards the edge of the water way while coughing, and as soon as the air hits his scars, they feel like they’re on fire all over again. Alec can barely catch his breath as he lays on the cement on his back, his body shaking from the after effects of the fight he brutally lost. 

When he looks down at his body, he can see the rips in his suit, and the last thing he thinks is  _ Jace is going to fucking kill me _ , before hoisting himself up with the ounce of energy he has left, and finding an exit. 

___

Every muscle in Alec’s body is aching as he webs up to Magnus’ balcony and tumbles over it, dropping heavily on the floor. The balustrade digs into his chest as he goes over, scraping against the wounds, and Alec groans quietly in pain. 

Alec wasn’t expecting the creature to have so much strength, and getting thrown into the wall with such power would have been bad enough. He’s exhausted from being held and pulled under the water, limbs weak from how he’d struggled to swim and powered on, and the blood loss from the ragged claw marks across his chest isn’t helping the situation.

He tries to stand up and gets hit with a wave of dizziness, so he sits down again, covering his eyes with his hands until he feels less like he’s going to be sick. His hands are shaking when he pulls them away, and he tries to gulp in a couple of deep breaths to steady himself.

Everything from the fight is overwhelming; he’s gotten hurt as Spidey before, but he’s never come that close to dying. Now that the adrenaline’s gone, he realises just how dangerous it had been, and it takes him a few minutes of focussing on breathing in and out before he feels calm enough to think about moving.

Alec glances up, trying to see into Magnus’ living room through the balcony doors. Magnus is curled on the couch with a book, and just the sight of him makes some of the tension and panic in Alec’s body melt away. Alec reminds himself that he’s home and safe. He made it back.

Shakily, he crawls to the French doors that lead into Magnus’ living room from the balcony. Hands still trembling slightly, he roots around in his backpack for the flowers he stopped to get for Magnus on his way over. 

It had seemed like a good idea at the time - Alec was celebrating not being dead, and he was supposed to be having a date night with Magnus anyway, so why wouldn’t he stop to pick up flowers? Now, as he pulls them out the bag, the red petals of the roses are crushed and crumpled, and Alec can see some of them have fallen to the bottom of his bag like drops of blood.

He tries to spruce them up a bit, then sighs heavily and gives up, banging on the glass door with his forehead. 

Magnus glances up and looks around, frowning. He obviously hasn’t seen Alec, because he looks back down at his book again, and Alec is just about to rifle in his bag for his phone - he’s praying it survived - when Magnus does a double take, dropping his book on the couch and then hurrying over to open the balcony doors. 

“Alec?” 

“Hey,” Alec says, smiling weakly. He holds the flowers out, only just registering the blood and dirt all over his hands. “I got you these.”

Magnus gapes at him, then helps pull Alec up, his strong arms around Alec’s waist, taking his weight.

“They _ were _ nice,” Alec says, holding the flowers up to his face to hide it. “I’m sorry.”

Magnus shakes his head, eyes flickering worriedly over the gashes on Alec’s chest. “I don’t -  _ Alexander.”  _

Alec puts an arm around Magnus’ shoulder and together they move inside, Alec’s body screaming in protest with every step he takes. Magnus pretty much carries him the final few meters, easing him down onto the couch. Alec collapses back onto it with a grateful noise, closing his eyes.

“Stay there and don’t move,” Magnus says, taking the flowers from Alec’s limp hand and putting them on the table. He taps Alec’s cheek. “Hey, are you still with me?”

Alec makes half a sound and tries to nod. This seems to appease Magnus the smallest amount, because his voice sounds more distant when he speaks again.

“You’re not allowed to pass out until I get back,” Magnus says, and then Alec doesn’t hear anything for a few minutes. Now that he’s safe with Magnus, the pain of the wounds on his chest has roared back into life. He lies with his head lolled over the back of the couch, gritting his teeth and focussing on his breathing. 

Alec peels one eye open when Magnus returns. He’s carrying a first aid kit in one hand, with some clothes slung over his forearm, and a glass of water in the other. He takes a seat on the couch beside Alec and together they ease the ruined suit off Alec’s torso so that Magnus has access to clean his wounds, Alec’s jaw clenching with the movement. 

“What the hell happened?” Magnus asks, picking up some gauze swabs from the kit and wetting them with saline solution. He starts gently wiping them over Alec’s chest, cleaning away the dirt and dried blood.

Alec grimaces. “I fought Valentine,” he says, sucking in a harsh breath when the salt water touches the open wound. He clenches his hands into fists at his sides. 

“How did  _ he _ do this to you?” Magnus asks, frowning. His movements are caring, but practised.

“The creature on the Brooklyn Bridge the other night,” Alec says, watching Magnus’ hands. “It was Valentine. He injected himself with something and turned himself into it.”

Magnus’ hands go still and in the silence of the room Alec can hear his sharp intake of breath. He clenches his jaw, starting to clean Alec’s wounds again, and doesn’t say anything until he’s finished. Alec watches him worriedly. 

When he looks up at Alec, he seems upset. “You’re lucky these wounds aren’t any deeper. He just missed your vital organs.”

Alec glances down at his chest, residual panic pulsing once through his body, then nods. “I know.” Alec reaches out, cupping Magnus’ chin with his thumb and forefinger. “But I’m still here. I’m okay.”

Magnus stares at the gashes across Alec’s chest. “You could have  _ died _ . Alexander, if anything happened to you, I -”

Alec pushes himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the pain, and rests his hands on Magnus’ shoulders. “Hey. I’m still here,” he says softly. 

Magnus purses his lips. His eyes meet Alec’s, filled with worry, and Alec pulls him into a hug as best he can manage. Magnus hesitates for just a moment before he’s wrapping his arms around Alec, holding him tightly.

When they break apart, Magnus clears his throat, looking away for a moment. He busies himself with sifting through a selection of dressings with deft fingers, but when he turns back to Alec, he seems in control of his emotions again. 

Alec watches him carefully. He’s seen many different sides of Magnus before, but this vulnerability is something new. Magnus is clearly anxious about Alec getting hurt - or worse - but he’s just as clearly trying to avoid the full weight of his worry settling on Alec, as if his care and concern might be a burden - too much, too soon.

That thought makes Alec’s heart squeeze painfully and he cups Magnus’ face, running his thumb gently over Magnus’ cheekbone.

Magnus’ lips tug upwards at the corners. “Don’t distract me,” he says, carefully removing one dressing from its packaging. “And lie down.”

“You think I’m distracting?” Alec asks, smiling for the first time in hours and trying not to sound too smug as he lies back on the couch.

Magnus just gives him a look, lips twitching, and his fingers dance in the air as he moves to place the first dressing over one of the claw marks. Alec waits patiently for him to finish dressing the other two wounds before he curls his hand into Magnus’ hair and draws him in for a kiss.

Magnus hovers over him, kissing him back gently, chastely, until he pulls away. “Alec, you’re hurt,” he says, and Alec just shakes his head, searching for Magnus’ lips again. “Easy, bug boy.”

Alec can’t help laughing, even as he kisses Magnus again. “What did you just call me?” he mumbles against Magnus’ lips, still smiling. He kisses Magnus without waiting for an answer, the feel of Magnus’ solid body under his hands and the warmth of his mouth grounding him.

When Magnus pulls away again, he scoots back on the couch, putting some distance between them. He seems a little flustered, which makes Alec grin.

Magnus hands him the glass of water he’d brought and a pack of painkillers. “There’s some pants and a top there for you,” he says, nodding to the clothes draped over the back of the couch. “I’ll make some food while you get changed - I’m not kissing you again until we’ve eaten. You need to keep your blood sugar up.”

Alec rolls his eyes fondly, but he doesn’t have the words to explain how much appreciates everything Magnus is doing for him.

Magnus goes back on his word almost immediately, pressing a lingering kiss to Alec’s temple before he stands up, packing away the first aid kit and removing the bloody gauzes. While Alec forces himself to sit up, Magnus bustles through to the kitchen, and Alec can hear running water and the clatter of pots and pans as he throws back the painkillers.

Alec leans over and pulls the clothes Magnus had left for him towards himself. Gingerly, he eases his suit off and pulls the sweatpants on. Slipping into the hoodie is harder because moving his arms pulls at the dressings on his chest, but eventually he gets it on. It smells like Magnus and Alec can’t help smiling as he tugs it around his shoulders.

Getting up off the couch takes a herculean effort but Alec just about manages, holding onto the back of the cushions as he takes some wobbly steps forward. The pain in his chest has dulled a little, but he’s still aching all over. 

Once he makes it to the kitchen, he offers to help, but Magnus waves him away immediately. Alec flops gratefully into one of the kitchen chairs, catching sight of Magnus watching him with an approving gaze just before he turns back to his chopping board.

“How are you feeling?” Magnus asks. 

Alec hums. “Like I got run over by a bulldozer,” he says, and he sees Magnus try to hide a chuckle. “I’m sorry I messed up our date night.”

“Alexander,” Magnus says fondly, shaking his head, but he doesn’t add anything else. Alec feels at peace for the first time as he quietly watches Magnus cook, but it doesn’t last. Now he’s not in immediate danger of dying, the horrors he’d seen at Idris come back to him, nausea rolling in his stomach.

How the hell is he going to tell Magnus? 

Alec tries to unjumble his thoughts into some kind of coherent explanation. He doesn’t quite know where to begin, but Magnus deserves to know.

“There’s a sub-basement in Idris,” he starts, his voice rough. “It must be Valentine’s secret lab or something. I ended up there today.”

Magnus turns to him, watching Alec intently even as he carries on cooking. Alec’s eyes flit to Magnus’, what he’s about to say weighing heavy on him.

“The cross genetics project, I don’t think he ever stopped working on it. There were all these videos, recordings of experiments he’d done,” Alec says hollowly. “In one of them he was injecting himself with something - I have no idea what the hell it is.”

Magnus turns back to the hob with a crease in his brow. 

“What you said before about cross genetic mutation in something that’s already living - Valentine survived it, too,” Alec continues. “Whatever it is makes him turn into this...monster.”

“From the bridge,” Magnus says, and Alec nods. “You said, ‘in one of them’. What about the other experiments he filmed?”

Alec swallows hard. “I don’t know - I didn’t watch them - but he’s a scientist, right?” he says, smiling humorlessly. “Before he started injecting himself, he...he was doing human trials.”

Magnus has his back to Alec, but Alec can see the way he straightens, shaking his head.

“Christ,” Magnus says lowly. He starts dishing up the food distractedly, and Alec waits until Magnus is sitting down before he carries on speaking.

It takes him a moment to gather his words, getting choked up with the horror of it all. 

“He was keeping people he’d experimented on in cages. Magnus,” Alec says sorrowfully, raising his eyes to meet Magnus’, “it’s Dot. She was there.”

“Dot?” Magnus echoes, his face a picture of blank shock. Alec nods, his heart still breaking for everyone caught up in Valentine’s twisted world. Magnus scrapes his chair back angrily, pacing across the kitchen floor. “I should have looked harder for her. I knew she was investigating Valentine and she must have gotten too close and -”

Magnus breaks off, burying his face in his hands. Alec is up out of his seat as quickly as he can manage, wrapping his arms around Magnus. 

“It’s not your fault,” Alec says at once.

Magnus exhales harshly. “I gave Valentine the algorithm, Alec,” he says, voice full of self-contempt. “Whatever he’s injecting people with, it didn’t work until I gave him the key.” He nestles his head in the crook of Alec’s neck, finally letting himself be comforted. “I didn’t look for Dot. I knew she was missing.”

Alec shakes his head. “You didn’t know what he was gonna do with it,” he reminds him. “The responsibility for that falls on Valentine alone.” He rubs soothing circles on Magnus’ back. “And we both knew Dot was missing, but we couldn’t have known Valentine had her.”

Magnus sighs. He’s quiet for a moment, and then he says, “We have to tell Luke and Raphael.”

Alec closes his eyes. He knows that Magnus is right - of course he is - and Alec despises the part of him that hesitates at his words. Because the only reason Alec has most of this information is because he’s Spiderman - who currently has an arrest warrant out for him - and he definitely broke the law by entering Valentine’s secret lab.

That doesn’t even matter, though, not in the big scheme of things. If Alec ends up getting in trouble, it doesn’t mean anything, because they have to save the people Valentine has trapped. It’s the right thing to do. People have been saying Spiderman is a hero for weeks; now is the time for Alec to step up. 

“Yeah,” Alec says heavily. He leans his cheek against Magnus’ head. “I know.”

Alec isn’t sure how long they stand there for, but after a while his body starts protesting and he guides them both over to the chairs so he can sit down. 

“You okay?” he asks. 

Magnus sighs. “No,” he says, looking troubled. “Alec, there’s something else.”

Alec nods, gathering Magnus’ hands in his own. “You can tell me anything,” he says softly.

Magnus swallows. He stares at their joined hands as he speaks. “It’s my father,” he says quietly. “I did some research at work and I found a database of shareholders - Valentine and my father. He’s an angel investor in Idris.”

Alec can’t hide his surprise, but Magnus doesn’t notice, still avoiding Alec’s eye. Alec’s mind whirrs - he can’t remember Magnus mentioning his father was an investor, but then Magnus never really says anything about him. 

“Like father, like son, I guess,” Magnus continues bitterly, shoulders curling inwards. “I haven’t spoken to him in fucking years and yet between us we gave Valentine free reign to -”

“Magnus, it’s not your fault,” Alec says again, stressing each word. “I mean it.”

Magnus finally meets Alec’s eye, his gaze searching, intense. He slips one hand from Alec’s and cups his cheek, stroking his thumb tenderly across Alec’s bottom lip.

“Tomorrow, after I get out of school and you finish work, we’ll go to Luke and tell him everything,” Alec says. Magnus nods, a sad, but determined air about him. Alec squeezes Magnus’ hand reassuringly. “When this is all over, we should get out of here.” 

Magnus’ lips tip up the smallest amount. “Where to?” he asks.

Alec shrugs. “We can take a weekend trip upstate or something,” he says. “Live in a cabin, away from phones and the internet and everyone else.”

“Just you and me,” Magnus says, giving Alec a tentative smile. 

Alec nods, smiling himself. “That sounds perfect.”

___

_ Valentine clutches the school ID in his fist, almost breaking it from the sheer force of his rage.  _

_ Alec Lightwood.  _

_ He should have known.  _

_ Like parents, like son, he supposes. Maryse and Robert ended up standing in the way of his success all those years ago, and now Alec is standing in the way of it today. Valentine finally has a successful formula for his serum, and this is the thanks he gets.  _

_ Valentine scoffs, resting his forehead in his hands. “Alec Lightwood. Spiderman.” _

_ Of course the buffoon who was running around saving the city was a Lightwood.  _

_ How did he do it, though? How did he get his abilities? They couldn’t be man-made, Valentine thinks. It doesn’t matter, though, because Valentine knows he’s going to win. He’s going to kill Spiderman and get the satisfaction of killing Alec Lightwood, too.  _

_ “I'm not the one who needs help,” Valentine whispers to himself as he looks to his left and notices the fresh three syringes of the serum he’s prepared. “There will be no more weakness.” _

_ Valentine takes out one syringe and holds it up to the light, studying it.  _

_ There are no more games. Alec Lightwood tried to steal his information - tried to expose him like some sort of monster, when all Alec is doing himself is hiding behind a mask.  _

_ “Would you give it all up, after all you know you can do?” Valentine mutters thoughtfully.  _

_ His body is still buzzing like it’s on a high from his last injection a few days ago, but this means war. Even if Alec doesn’t see his vision, he won’t let another Lightwood get in his way of total human purity.  _

_ Valentine rolls up his sleeve and plunges the syringe into the crook of his elbow, feeling the familiar warmth fill his body from head to toe.  _

_ “I can save them,” he growls, his voice already shifting as he throws the empty syringe carelessly to the side and plunges the second one in the same spot, his heart pounding violently in his chest.  _

_ “You're not gonna get in the way of my plan, Alec Lightwood!” Valentine says, injecting himself with the last syringe as his body bends and shifts into the monster. He feels powerful and strong, and he never wants to go back to being a measly human.  _

_ As a human, he’s weak. Right now, he is strength personified. Valentine can change the world, and anyone who stands in his way will pay the price.  _

_ He crawls into the tunnel and turns south before sprinting and roaring in rage.  _

_ Alec Lightwood is going to suffer, and Valentine knows exactly where to find him.  _

___

“There’s no way that makes sense,” Raj says, leaning over the giant library desk, showing Alec his highlighted notes. Alec peers at it, comparing it to his own notes on the case. 

“The defendant is clearly wrong,” Alec says, pointing to a particular line in the court report. “It’s still ruled under United States law, even if the employee of the company isn’t a citizen, since both the company and the hearing was done on United States territory.”

“Doesn’t that contradict -” Raj starts, when Aline interrupts him. 

“We’re almost seniors, Raj,” she says with a huff. “Haven’t you learned that everything to do with law is contradictory?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Raj says, defeated as he slumps back in his chair. Aline playfully hits his arm, and Alec smirks when Raj pouts.

Their three person study group is the only reason Alec feels even mildly on top of his shit for finals. With the way his personal life is going on right now, if Aline and Raj weren’t there to keep him grounded to his education, Alec is positive he’d have flunked. 

Finals are only a week away, meaning every person at Columbia is under stress. Alec also has his upcoming talk with Luke to think about, and he still isn’t sure how he and Magnus are gonna break the news that Valentine has literal human test subjects locked in his basement like some kind of madman. 

However, Alec has gotten to know Luke recently, and wonders if he could maybe trust Luke with his secret. Having someone on the inside wouldn’t be the worst idea. Although, with the arrest for Spiderman still in the air, Alec is torn. 

Being a superhero fucking sucks sometimes. 

“Alec, you with us?” Aline asks, pulling Alec from his thoughts. 

“Yeah,” Alec says, blinking and looking at Aline. “Just thinking about how hard Professor Woods’ test is gonna be.”

Raj groans animatedly, earning him a few shushes from the table next to theirs. “She has the most fun class - why do her tests have to be such a nightmare? Who gives three essays  _ and _ 100 multiple choice questions?”

“Less complaining and more studying,” Aline says, looking back down at her notes. Alec and Raj make eye contact and both share a small smile before following suit, going back to rereading the relevant terms they need to know for their finals. 

There’s quiet for about five minutes before there’s a loud bang that makes everyone jump. The sound echoes through the entire library, and Alec looks towards the door and then to his concerned friends. His heart rate quickens, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. 

The dread curling in his stomach tells him this isn’t a random attack. The short boy that runs into the library screaming at the top of his lungs confirms his suspicions. 

“Help! There’s a -” the boy screams, causing a few people to get out of their seats in panic. The boy’s cries for help are cut off when the door the the library is smashed through, and standing there in the entryway is none other than Valentine, in full beast mode. 

“Oh my god,” Alec hears Aline whisper as the entire library turns into chaos. People start running towards the two exits on the other side of the library, screaming for help as Valentine roars at them. 

Valentine’s head jerks from side to side, his eyes narrowing with a glint as he surveys the room. Alec’s stomach drops and he knows, with sudden certainty, that Valentine is here for him.

“Alec, let’s go!” Raj calls out, and when Alec tears his eyes away from Valentine to his friends he can see their ready to bolt. 

“I -” Alec says, glancing at his backpack and back at them, “I have to take care of something. I’ll be right behind you, just get out of here.” 

People bump past their table in an effort to escape, and he can see Raj and Aline hesitating, but there’s no time. Alec nods encouragingly as they run out with the rest of the crowd, and soon the library is entirely empty. When Alec turns to look at Valentine again, Valentine is looking right at him, his eyes boring into Alec’s with unbelievable rage. 

Alec refuses to be outsmarted by Valentine. Not again. 

Alec flings his backpack over his shoulders, and when Valentine charges at him Alec runs full speed at Valentine, ducking at the last moment and webbing Valentine’s feet together, causing Valentine to fall as Alec slides on the floor. Alec goes right back into a crouched position, ready to fight, and when he sees Valentine hesitate to get up, Alec jumps on him. 

As Alec raises his arm to punch Valentine with all he’s got, Valentine grabs Alec off of his back and smacks him on the ground. Alec groans in pain, the bruises on his back still not entirely faded from a day ago, and Valentine snatches the backpack from Alec, throwing it to the other side of the library. 

He lifts Alec up and slams him down again, stepping on Alec’s arm to keep him in place as he tries to scratch at Alec. The scars on his torso burn, still not fully healed  even with Alec's extra healing , and it feels all too familiar. Alec isn’t going to let him win. 

“Nowhere to hide, Alec,” Valentine taunts. Alec’s fingers scramble around where he’s being held down, finding the leg of a chair and swinging it at Valentine, effectively surprising him enough for Alec to shoot a web to his backpack and tug it towards himself. He can’t risk being maskless much longer.

As soon as Alec gets his hand on the strap, Valentine lifts him and throws him against a row of bookshelves on his right, causing all of them to topple over together. Alec manages to get behind the damage, and in record time, he emerges, wearing the Spiderman suit, feeling more confident and ready to kick some Morgenstern ass. 

“There’s no need to stop me, Alec. I’m going to purify people. Make an ideal human race,” Valentine says, his voice deep and unwavering. “Join me, Alec Lightwood.” 

“I think the fuck not,” Alec says, before shooting two webs on the light fixture above Valentine and tugging it down so that is smacks Valentine right in the back of his monstrous head. 

Valentine closes his eyes as a knee jerk reaction, and Alec takes the opportunity to web himself up to the ceiling, out of Valentine’s immediate view. He’s starting to understand that the only way to beat Valentine is by using the element of surprise and creeping up behind him. 

Alec jumps on Valentine’s back and starts webbing his arms to keep Valentine from throwing Alec off. They start to fight together in a twisted dance, and Alec finally feels like he has the upper hand. Valentine is swaying back and forth because of the webs Alec keeps shooting at his eyes and his arms, and every time Valentine bends one way, Alec is already there waiting for him. 

After some time of struggle, Valentine backs Alec up against a bookcase on the wall, causing Alec to lose his grip. He hangs on to the bookshelf for a moment, and when Valentine tries to claw at him, Alec shoots a web at the ceiling and pulls himself up. Valentine looks frustrated, roaring in anger before  beginning to climb the wall to reach him. 

Alec jumps down and Valentine follows, growling low in his throat. “I will kill you and everyone you love if you stand in my way, Alec.” 

“I’d like to see you try,” Alec spits back, shooting a web in Valentine’s face when he starts to laugh mockingly. 

Valentine tears it off and screams, grabbing a piece of wood from one of the old bookshelves and swinging at Alec as Alec backflips away. 

“Why be human at all when we can be so much more? Faster, stronger, smarter. This is my gift to you,” Valentine says as he throws the bookshelf away and tries to claw at Alec. They’re on the other side of the library now, and all Alec can do is hope that no one is standing near the doorway about to c ome in. He’s still dodging every blow Valentine aims at him, but making sure there are no casualties is high on Alec’s list of priorities. 

“You’re sick,” Alec replies with disgust, sliding under Valentine’s legs when he takes a swing at Alec and starting to shoot webs aggressively. 

Alec wraps Valentine up in a cocoon of webs, and Valentine is writhing trying to get out, getting angrier by the second. Alec webs him to the ground so he falls, trying to create more time to think of a plan. He sees his shot when he notices the bathroom sign leading to the basement, and is about to take action when he hears a thunderous roar from Valentine. 

Alec regrets taking his eyes off of the monster, because when he looks back at him, Valentine has gotten loose from the webbing and is charging straight at Alec. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing highlights of ch8:  
> 
> 
>   * “there are no writing highlights QUICK SAY ST FUNNY” - elle
>   * "what are like warnings we should put deaTH??? maybe ??????? ANGST??? PAIN??" - elle
> 

> 
> thank you to ceci for beta'ing as usual and to @[ronansmixtape](http://ronansmixtape.tumblr.com/) for the spanish translation (via the lovely [jule](http://highwarlockofhell.tumblr.com/))
> 
>  **tw:** violence, minor character death (basically this is the Big Fight!!)
> 
> p.s we're both on twitter now ([elle](https://twitter.com/magnusbanes_)/[charl](https://twitter.com/lukegarroways_)) nd we'd love to hear your thoughts so feel free to @ us or use the hashtag #dodfic while livetweeting!!

****“Hello?”

“Alexander, where -”

“Magnus? Oh, thank fuck, you’re Magnus right?”

“I - yes. Uh, who is this?”

“It’s Aline, I’m here with Raj, we’re Alec’s friends. Our school’s just been attacked by that monster thing from the news the other day and we can’t find Alec and Raj accidentally grabbed his phone and -”

“Okay, okay breathe. I’m on my way.”

“We don’t know where he is - what if he’s hurt -?”

“Aline, I know you’re worried but you need to breathe and try not to panic, okay? Don’t talk to the police yet, just wait for me. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Please hurry.”

___

Alec races into the bathroom and looks at the wrecked toilet in one of the stalls, the clear entry and exit that Valentine had used earlier on. His body is still buzzing from the adrenaline he felt just a few minutes ago and he paces agitatedly, trying to burn off some of the energy, while he tries to come up with some kind of plan. He needs to track Valentine - someone like him isn’t going to be satisfied with making just himself stronger, not with his warped ideas. Everything he’d spouted about purifying people and making an ideal race, it wasn’t just talk. Alec knows enough about the man to know he wants to share his vision with the world, and if the world won’t accept it, he’ll do everything in his power to make them.

Alec curses loudly and kicks at one of the toilet doors. He can see the different parts of the puzzle, but he just can’t put them together.

Valentine obviously isn’t above testing on humans and he clearly doesn’t care about whether people want to take whatever he’s been injecting himself with - he’ll make them take it anyway. He’s been doing this for God knows how long, but Alec has a gut feeling that everything happening now has just forced Valentine’s hand.

Valentine’s going to release his formula. Alec doesn’t know how or when, but it’s going to be soon. He’s going to turn everyone into a creature like him, and those who don’t survive the process - the _weak_ \- will be damned. It’s _sickening_ , and Alec’s heart rabbits in his chest at his powerlessness to stop Valentine’s plan.

He doesn’t know what to _do_.

“Alec!”

Ducking into one of the stalls, Alec hides, not wanting to be caught as Spiderman. It isn’t until he hears his name being called again that he realizes exactly whose voice it is. Alec takes his mask off and gets out of the stall, sticking his head out of the debris around the bathroom entrance that was torn down when Valentine stomped through.

When Alec locks eyes with Magnus and Izzy coming down the hall, he waves them over, noticing the relief on their faces.

“Alexander,” Magnus says, voice brimming with emotion. He rushes to the bathroom entrance and pulls Alec into a tight hug that Alec returns, despite his confusion.

Magnus moves away after a minute and Izzy hugs Alec next. Alec hugs her back, meeting Magnus’ eyes over her shoulder. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We heard about the attack,” Magnus says, looking shaken. “I tried to get in touch with you because we were supposed to meet Luke, but Aline answered your phone instead and told me about what happened. We snuck in through the west side of the building and came to find you as soon as we could.”

Alec barely resists the urge to pull Magnus into a tight hug again.

“Magnus was at Idris when he got off the phone and I’d just finished work when he told me you might be in trouble,” Izzy says, shaking her head. “I’m glad you’re alright, Alec, but I’m definitely missing something here. Start talking.”

Alec doesn’t meet her eye, instead looking at the ground. There’s so much he’s kept from her; he should have known it would come back to bite him in the ass sooner rather than later. He feels a hand on his shoulder and glances up to find Magnus looking at him reassuringly. When he gives an encouraging nod, Alec sighs.

“The creature,” Alec starts, looking at Izzy, “from the bridge that night. That’s - it’s Valentine.”

“Like, our boss Valentine?” Izzy says, her eyebrows furrowing.

“That’s the one,” Alec says, rubbing his finger and thumb together. “Long story short, he was working on a project with our father that he never shut down, and he’s been using humans as guinea pigs to test his - his formula or _whatever_ it is until he found something that worked. He injected himself and now he turns into - well, that thing.”

“How did he realize you were Spiderman?” Magnus asks, when Izzy just stares at Alec in shock.

Alec frowns, trying to think. He shuts his eyes when the answer washes over him. “My school ID,” he groans. “I was trying to get evidence for Luke and then Valentine attacked. I must have left it in the lab, I didn’t even think.” He exhales harshly, frustrated and angry at himself.

Magnus sends him a withering look. “Yes, getting your ID back would definitely have been worth giving Valentine another chance to kill you.”

Alec glances down, abashed, guilt churning in his stomach. The feeling only intensifies when Izzy says, “Wait, wait. How do you know all this? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I -” Alec hesitates, gulping. “I wanted to figure it out before I told you. I didn’t want to burden you with all this insanity, and I definitely didn’t want to accuse your boss of being a psychopath before I knew for sure myself. I’m - I’m sorry.”

Izzy studies him for a second, and she shakes her head. “We don’t have time to get into the details right now, but you’re telling us everything later.”

Alec just nods, knowing he needs to share everything with her, but she’s right. Stopping Valentine is more pressing.

“When we were fighting, Valentine kept mentioning the entire population. I think he wants to spread his formula to everyone, but I don’t know how - surely he can’t inject everyone?”

“No, but he doesn’t need to directly stick a needle into people for them to get poisoned by the formula,” Magnus muses, a finger on his chin as he surveys the giant hole in the floor where there once was a toilet. “He just needs some way of spreading it across the city.”

Izzy gasps quietly. “Raziel,” she says urgently, looking between Magnus to Alec. Alec sees Magnus straighten up, looking surprised. “It spreads fresh air to the entire city.”

Alec remembers Raziel from the first day Izzy explained it to him, his heart sinking as she continues. “If he puts the formula into the filtration system, then -”

“He can expose everyone in New York City,” Magnus finishes.  

Alec’s heart sinks at the thought of Valentine winning with just a tube of serum and the push of a button. The city is full of random innocent citizens, but also Alec’s family. Jace and Izzy and - Max - who Alec keeps incidentally fighting with. Alec thinks it’s partially due to Max being the only one to not know about Spiderman, but everyday Alec feels like he sees Max less and less. He wants to fix their broken relationship, and he doesn’t know how to do that.

He can’t imagine Valentine destroying the city and not giving Alec a chance to do that before they all turn into monsters.  

“How do we stop him?” Izzy asks, eyes wide, pulling Alec from his thoughts. “Think, Alec - do you know anything about the creature that can help us?”

“The formula wears off,” Alec says, gripping his mask tightly in his fist. “It’s why he ran away from the fight, rather than trying to kill me. He started to turn human again.”

Alec glances over to Magnus. He’s gone quiet, and Alec can practically see the gears turning in his head.

“I know what he’s doing,” Magnus says, looking at the Lightwood siblings. There’s steely determination in his voice when he says, “I can reverse it. I can go to Idris and make an antidote - we can release it in case we’re too late to stop him.”

“What can I do?” Izzy asks immediately, looking between Magnus and Alec.

“Iz -”

“ _No_ , Alec,” she says, glaring at him. “You _need_ us. You’re not doing this alone, not anymore.”

She meets his gaze, unwavering. Her shoulders are pushed back and her chin is tilted confidently, and Alec knows there’s no use in fighting her.

He doesn’t want Magnus and Izzy anywhere near Idris Corp if Valentine’s plan is really to go to the top of the building and release his formula across the entire city. But Alec could use their help, in the end. Maybe he doesn’t need to fight alone, not this time.

“The people he experimented on,” Alec says, nodding at her. “Someone needs to get them out of there.”

“I can do it,” Izzy says confidently. “Where are they?”

“The sub-basement in Idris,” Magnus says. “You’ll probably have to break in, but I doubt anyone is going to pay much attention if Valentine is roaming the streets looking like _that_.”

Izzy nods. Magnus inhales steadily before he turns to look at Alec.

“What about you, Alexander?” Magnus asks.

“I’m going to track him,” Alec says. Then something occurs to him. “Hey, will you let Aline and Raj know that I’m okay? Make up some sort of excuse.”

Magnus’ expression falters at that, and Alec feels the guilt hit him again. He can’t imagine what Magnus must have thought when Aline told him she couldn’t find Alec - just yesterday Alec had gotten so badly hurt he almost passed out on Magnus’ balcony.

Izzy’s lips twitch at that into an almost-smile. “I’ll handle it.”

“Stay safe,” Alec says, hugging Izzy tightly and pressing a kiss onto her head. She looks fearless when they break apart, but Alec can see her chewing on her bottom lip slightly, a nervous tick she’s had since she was young.

Alec meets Magnus’ eyes and Magnus smiles a little. He cups Alec’s face and kisses him softly, Alec’s hands gripping Magnus’ hips. Alec tries to tell himself that this isn’t a goodbye kiss. He’s not going to die tonight.

When Magnus pulls away, he smiles, and Alec flushes under his sister’s approving gaze.

“You know,” Magnus says, running his thumb over Alec’s cheekbone, “kissing you is way better when you’re right side up.”

Alec can’t help but let out a soft laugh. He squeezes Magnus’ hip and pulls back, tugging his mask on.

“Go,” he says, watching Magnus and Izzy stride out of the bathroom. Alec looks back down at the giant hole leading into the sewers like an opening straight to hell and his stomach flips, his whole body doused with unease. He has to do it, though - the sewer system is his only way to get out of the school without being seen. It’s his only shot.

 _Now or never_ , he thinks to himself. Alec takes one more look out the window at the darkening sky before jumping down the hole.

___

Valentine crawls through the streets, an odd satisfaction blooming in his chest at every person that runs away from him screaming.

 _Good_ , Valentine thinks. _Let their fear consume them. It’ll separate the weak from the worthy._

He flips a car that almost runs into him, and lets out the loudest roar he can muster. He feels powerful and untouchable, and boy does he love it. It feels like he’s in his final form. His working serum, being fully utilized at last. It tastes like victory.

“Freeze!” someone says, and Valentine laughs, the sound vibrating in his chest. What _fools_. To think they can actually defeat him.

Alec Lightwood can shoot webs from his wrists, and still doesn’t stand a chance.

Valentine turns slowly, a malicious grin on his face, making sure he shows off all his sharp teeth.

“And what if I refuse?” he taunts, loving the way the three police officers’ eyes widen in fear. They didn’t think he could talk, did they? They thought he was some freak running around New York City.

Serves them right for underestimating him.

Valentine positions himself and roars at the top of his lungs, delighted when they start to shoot at him. Did they actually believe his serum wouldn’t be bulletproof? He is a God in this form, walking around these measly scum.

The bullets land on his chest and fall down, not even piercing the first layer of skin.

“Nice try,” Valentine says through a growl, reaching over to pick up the police car, and whacking the cops away as if they were plastic dolls. Their bodies are flung into a barber shop nearby, and Valentine roars again.

He wants everyone in the city to know exactly who they’re dealing with.

People start scattering away, shouting in fear, and Valentine looks to his left, seeing Idris Corp in the distance. He has a set destination in mind, but where’s the fun if you don’t wreak some havoc along the way?

___

Magnus scans himself in, leaving Izzy in the lobby, and bolts over to the elevators. The receptionists behind the front desk give him a weird look as he runs past, but Magnus ignores them, focusing instead on heading up to his lab. Everything he’ll need to make the antidote will be there.

When the elevator dings on his floor, Magnus runs out into the empty lab area. Everyone in his facility is done working for the day, but he knows some scientists in other departments work late and the sanitation workers’ shifts start soon. As soon as he’s finished cooking the serum, he’ll need to get everyone out of there. If Valentine really is coming, beast and all, Magnus can’t put the lives of his colleagues at risk.

When Magnus reaches the lab desk, it’s almost as if his mind and hands go on autopilot. He starts grabbing different sized vials and kneels down next to the silver cart to his left to find some chemicals he needs.

“Come on,” Magnus says to himself when his hands shake as he tries to put his gloves and goggles on. He can feel the pressure of the situation all around him, and if he doesn’t focus, the panic will drown him.

He thinks of Alec, and his warm hazel eyes and the smile he gives Magnus after he’s said something bold - bright and confident and ethereal. Alec Lightwood’s smile could give the sun a run for its money.

Magnus wants Alec safe, above all. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if Alec gets hurt. Yesterday seems a lifetime ago, but the deep wounds on Alec’s chest are engraved into Magnus’ mind.

He continues mixing chemicals, muttering proportions under his breath, trying to remember every little detail. When everything is finally mixed together, the mixture bubbling in one of the larger flasks, Magnus take it to the cooker. He pours the liquid into a free glass cylinder and puts it into place, turning the cooker on.

The timer on the cooker starts to tick down, and Magnus watches it with an intense gaze as he takes his goggles and gloves off. It feels like it’s taking forever to cook, but Magnus just focuses on the machine, hoping his stare will miraculously make it go faster.

In the distance, only a few blocks away, Magnus is sure he can hear an aggressive roar rattling through the streets.

___

It takes three forceful kicks to the manhole cover for it to budge, and given every battering he’s taken over the past 24 hours, Alec has to take a moment to catch his breath. He’s made his way south - up ahead he can see the Idris building a lot clearer than he could from his school. The seams of the Spiderman costume that he hastily sewed together the previous night threaten to tear as he climbs out of the manhole - his hands aren’t as skilled as Jace’s when it comes to needlework.

Alec slowly starts to make his way towards Idris, trying to stay mostly in the shadows. There’s a police warrant out for Spidey, so he needs to stay out of sight. With police helicopters in the air and the team on land scanning for Valentine, Alec knows he’ll be screwed if they run into him.

It’s already dark, so Alec takes his time swinging from building to building down 8th Avenue. He should probably be speeding up, but he needs to be careful, too. For his family. For Magnus.

Below him, the city has gone up in panic. There are traffic jams everywhere, and when Alec listens in closely, he can hear the buzz of the police radio system on high alert. The worst has probably happened - word has gotten around that the creature from the bridge is back, and chaos erupted.

Alec doesn’t blame them. He can’t imagine being so out of the loop. He uses it as fuel to motivate himself to get to Idris Corp faster to stop this once and for all.

All it takes is one slip up, though.

“Spiderman spotted! He’s headed south!”

Alec whips his head to see the police officer merely a block away speaking into his walkie talkie and curses, running into a full sprint. He hooks a web on a building and runs along its side. His heart is racing in his chest as a helicopter up ahead turns the corner, shining a bright light directly on Alec’s face.

 _Keep moving_ , he tells himself.

“Stand down now or we will open fire,” someone says on speaker from the helicopter. Alec’s stomach plummets - he knows that voice.

Raphael Santiago is up on the helicopter, and with all the negative things he’s had to say about Spiderman, Alec reckons he’d love to be the one to put him in handcuffs.

“You’re surrounded - there’s no escape,” Raphael booms from the helicopter. Alec forces himself to try and block it all out, but when he hears the gunshots hit the wall of the building he’s speeding across, he freaks out.

The shots are deafening, electrifying, and Alec realizes that they aren’t bullets - they’re stun guns. Alec’s mind races and he almost trips over his own feet as he runs faster. When he jumps and shoots a web to the next building, the helicopter somehow ends up right in front of him. Alec is temporarily blinded by the helicopter’s bright lights, and even the slightest hesitation gives the police officers an opening to shoot a stun bullet directly at his chest.

It hits him right where the deepest cut from Valentine’s claw is and his entire body feels like it’s on fire. Alec can’t help but scream through the pain and the web snaps instantaneously, sending Alec plummeting to the ground.

Alec slams onto the front windshield of a taxi under him, groaning as he rolls off onto the ground. Cars screech around him but Alec can hardly hear through the pain.

The world around Alec is numb, almost like he’s listening to it through a fuzzy filter. He lies on the ground, face down, trying to regain his strength, but every time he tries to move his body screams in protest, the aftershock of the electric stun still buzzing through his system.

The light from the helicopter is pointed directly at Alec’s unmoving body, and Alec faintly hears footsteps - lots of them. There’s nowhere to hide now.

When Alec opens his eyes, everything is a little disoriented. He tells his body to move but the weight of the last day has settled into his bones. It feels like his body has shut down entirely, drained of all energy.

Alec barely registers the handcuffs being put on him. The cop roughly jerks Alec into a sitting position.

Why won’t everything stop _spinning_?

Alec closes his eyes again, trying to ignore the pain in his head. He sits cross legged, making sure to remain perfectly still. He can feel dozens of pairs of eyes on him and he knows he’s surrounded. Footsteps approach him, but Alec keeps his head bowed. A cop squats in front of him, and he feels fingers hooking into the back of his mask and tugging forward.

It isn’t until the mask is fully off that Alec’s eyes snap open and his gut instinct kicks in.

_Izzy. Magnus. Valentine threatening to release the serum._

He’s wasted too much time. In a flash, Alec uses his Spidey strength to snap the handcuffs off, swiping a hand under the cop in front of him - Raphael - to take his legs out and make him fall.

Alec scrambles up and webs two cops with large guns and tugs them forward, making them fall. He moves more into the dark, shielding his face all the same. The element of surprise is perhaps the only thing that’s stopping anyone shooting, so he needs to keep all the leverage he has.

After webbing another two cops in the face, Alec hops on the hood of a cop car, shooting webs left and right. He just needs to give himself a moment to escape.

One cop tries to run at him, and Alec jumps off the hood of the car, kicking him in the chest. It’s not an injury that will hurt too badly, and he can’t risk playing nice much longer. Another cop behind him is getting ready to shoot, and Alec webs the gun out of his hand, fighting a police officer that approached him head on and flipping him over his back and onto the cement.

Pure adrenaline is the only thing keeping him going right now.

He takes out another police officer, then webs two cops towards each other again and goes hand to hand with a police officer to his left. Alec moves quickly, making sure his face is as hidden as possible.

When he manages to throw the man over the hood of one police car, he moves on, disarming two men, and he’s just dropped down in a crouch when he hears, “Freeze!”

Alec goes still. The voice isn’t Raphael’s. It’s Luke’s.

Alec’s eyes scan around him, and he begs whatever higher power there is for a way out of this situation. What will Luke say if he finds out Alec is Spiderman? What will Raphael say?

Alec grits his teeth, breathing heavily.

“Hands behind your head! Now!” Raphael shouts. They’re both behind him, then. He has no choice.

Slowly, Alec turns his head, feeling the light from the streetlight illuminating him again. He keeps his arms at a distance as he spots Luke and Raphael, both of their guns pointed at Alec.

Recognition dawns on their faces as Alec comes into view. Luke’s jaw drops and Raphael’s dark eyes go wide, the pair of them in utter shock. Alec turns around more fully, starting to stand up.

“He’s headed to Idris Corp,” Alec says, his voice shaking. “Magnus and Izzy are there right now.”

Luke lowers his gun, as if the sound of Alec’s voice brings him back to remember that this isn’t just Spiderman - this is someone he knows. Alec still feels like he betrayed Luke.

Raphael, despite his shock, still has his gun up and pointed at Alec. Alec slowly starts walking to them, eyes flicking from Raphael to Luke to the gun. He approaches cautiously.

“Please,” Alec begs. Luke seems to be on his side, but Raphael is still holding his gun up. “You gotta let me go help him and my sister.”

Alec walks another two steps and then crouches again, picking his mask off the ground and putting it over his head.

“Go,” Luke says with a nod. “We’ve got your back.”

“ _Sir_ ,” Raphael says incredulously, glancing sideways at him.

Alec takes a tentative step back as Raphael lowers his gun with a scowl under Luke’s harsh gaze.

“There’s an arrest warrant out for him,” Raphael sneers.

“Well it’s a shame that he _just managed_ to escape then,” Luke says, with a pointed look at Alec. Alec feels some of the tension bleed out of his bones.

“That’s -” Raphael tries to argue.

“Don’t make me remind you who your Captain is, Santiago,” Luke says, turning back to Alec. “ _Go_.”

Alec nods, hoping Luke can sense just how grateful he is.

“We need to reroute to Idris Corp,” Luke says sternly to Raphael.

Raphael’s jaw is clenched, and with one parting look, Alec shoots a web to a nearby building and jerks himself up.

Just faintly, he hears Raphael shout, “don’t shoot!”, and then there’s a searing pain on his thigh.

___

The blare of the fire alarms startles everyone on the floor Magnus is on.

“Everybody out, now!” he calls. They glance at him for less than a second before scattering.

While the antidote was brewing, he’d gone on a mission to get everyone out of the building. He knew running in shouting about a giant beast wouldn’t have gone down well and figured a fire alarm would do the trick instead.

Magnus runs over to help the stragglers, shooing them out. Pulling the alarm on this floor should have triggered the alarms in the entire building, so Magnus can breathe a little easier knowing everyone's on their way to safety.

He runs back through to the lab to check on the serum. It’s got 45 seconds left.

 _Hurry up_ , Magnus begs. Ever since he heard that first roar, it’s only felt like Valentine has been getting closer. But he needs more time.

Magnus grabs a Bunsen burner and stands up on a chair, holding it up to the sprinklers until they activate. _Bingo_.

The power sealed doors come down instantly, making the lab harder to get into. The lights cut out to safe low light bulbs - now only the moonlight and street lamps give real light to the lab.

Magnus looks around, trying to find a hiding spot that might not get him killed. Chances are that he’s going to have a run in with Valentine, but he’s not sure he’ll be able to refrain from punching Valentine in the face when he sees him.

Not that it would be smart to pick a fight with Valentine right now, but the sentiment still stands.

While he’s looking, he spots a welding torch on the end of one of the lab benches. It might not be the most orthodox weapon, but he’s thankful he has something to defend himself with, even if it’s just for a moment.

There’s a closet on the far side of the wall and Magnus makes up his mind when he sees the timer on the antidote tick down to 0. It’s in that moment, his hand curling around the torch, that Magnus hears the first bang on one of the safety doors.

Valentine is here.

The second bang is louder, and Magnus’ heart jumps with the sound of it. It’s somehow creepier in the darkness, like Valentine is everywhere all at once. Every time Valentine batters his fists against the doors, it feels like the echo in the room gets louder and louder. The door is starting to cave in from the force of Valentine’s punches.

Magnus runs to the antidote and grabs it, putting it in his jean pocket and hurrying to the closet, silently locking it behind him as Valentine’s roar echoes in the room. Magnus doesn’t need to see the lab clearly to know that Valentine has made it past the doors.

The closet Magnus is huddled in is oddly similar to the one he and Alec were in not too long ago. Oh, how different that situation was from this one.

Magnus’ heart rate speeds up as Valentine makes his way around the room, his footsteps loud and abrasive. Magnus tries to hold his breath so he doesn’t make a sound and holds onto the welding torch like a lifeline.

The footsteps become softer after a few minutes, and suddenly the closet door is flying off, leaving Magnus face to face with a monster.

Shock kicks in before anything else and Magnus swallows as Valentine’s eyes bore into his. In some ways, this isn’t his boss at all, but in others, Magnus thinks that Valentine’s monstrous inside is finally matched by a hideous outer shell.

“It’d be such a shame,” Valentine says through gritted teeth, his eyes flickering over Magnus’ face, “to kill such a smart scientist.”

Magnus scoffs, feeling anger and betrayal boil deep in his gut.

“Fuck you,” Magnus spits back, holding up the welding torch and turning it on, blasting Valentine in the face. Magnus can barely see past the bright light of fire, but he knows Valentine is still there despite the literal fire being shot at him. Magnus just misses with his aim and Valentine grabs something from Magnus’ right and runs away, and only when Valentine is gone does Magnus finally let himself breathe.

The fear pulsing through his body makes it almost impossible to function. He can’t help but think of Alec and pray that he ends up okay. He hopes Alec can find the strength in himself to stop Valentine.

 _Christ,_ Magnus thinks, tossing the welding torch to the side and bolting out the door, _who would have thought dating Spiderman would give him grey hair at such a young age?_

___

The gate to the sub-basement snaps after a minute, the alarms blaring almost instantly, just as Magnus predicted. Izzy holds her breath and flattens back against the nearest pillar, trying to stay out of sight.

She counts to 120 in her head and, even though the alarm is ringing, she can’t hear any footsteps. Praying that no one is going to come and escort her out, Izzy steels herself and runs towards the lab, trying to stay out of sight where she can.

Once she’s in, she looks around wildly, trying to find the hostages. She can’t see anything immediately and her heart pounds as she starts panicking. She needs to get them the hell out of there, but she doesn’t even know where to start and she’s already running out of time and she’s worried half out her mind for Alec because he’s planning to face off with that creature from the bridge and -

Izzy stops in the middle of the room and forces herself to breathe. She needs to stop herself spiralling and come up with a plan.

She starts searching the room methodically, looking for anything that might help her. Valentine’s desk, standing proudly in the middle of the room, gives her no answers. There’s a door on her left but she can see that it’s just a bathroom; she goes to check it, all the same.

A faint groan comes from Izzy’s right and she whirls around, running to the door the sound is coming from. Peeking in through the little window in the door, she sees six cages, and she’s unable to hold in her gasp.

How could she have been working for someone like Valentine?

Izzy pushes aside her guilt and disgust at getting involved with such a company to focus on the hostages. She can see the conditions these people are being held in and she needs to get them to a hospital right now.

On their way over to Idris Corp, Magnus had told her to find a woman called Dot Rollins. She was the only hostage they knew by name and he said he hoped Dot would trust Izzy if Izzy told her she knew him. Izzy scans the names she can see through the window and finds the cage - these people are being held in _cages_ \- closest to the door is marked with Dot’s name.

Izzy tries the door but it won’t budge. She peers closer at it and it seems like it needs some kind of key card or pass. Thankfully, she’d just finished work before she and Magnus had headed to Alec’s school, so she still has her work badge on her. It works for the elevators in the lobby but when she scans it here, the light on the side of the scanner just flashes red.

She exhales harshly and looks around, trying to think of some other way to get the door open. Izzy goes back to the desk and starts rifling through the drawers and all Valentine’s belongings. All she finds is paperclips, some blank DVDs and tin foil. Only when she reaches the third drawer does she find a blank badge.

 _Please work_ , she thinks to herself, hurrying back to the door and swiping the card over the scanner. When it beeps and the light goes green, Izzy finally lets out a breath of relief.

Inside, the room is filthy. The cages are covered in grime and the smell in the room is awful. Izzy goes straight to Dot’s cage. Dot is curled up on the loosely padded ground, either asleep or passed out. She looks like she hasn’t properly eaten anything in a while, and Lord knows what kind of experiments Valentine had been doing on her.

“Dot?” Izzy asks hesitantly. There’s no response so Izzy repeats her name a little louder, glancing at the other hostages before reaching through the cage to put her hand on Dot’s arm gently.

Dot shuffles momentarily before waking up. Her eyes go wide as she looks at Izzy and her face is a mask of panic.

“No, no - who are you? What do you want?” Dot asks, trying to back herself to the other side of the cage.

“Hey,” Izzy says, immediately raising her hands in a gesture of surrender to try and calm Dot. “I’m Magnus’ friend - Magnus Bane.” Dot’s eyes flicker at the mention of Magnus’ name. “I’m getting you out of here. All of you.”

Dot studies Izzy warily for a long moment.

“The keys are over there,” she says eventually, pointing to the curved tunnel wall. Izzy hops up, snatching the keys off the hook and fiddling with the lock on Dot’s cage.

It opens after a moment and Izzy sighs in relief. She rushes over to Dot to help her stand. Dot is shaking and Izzy’s heart breaks thinking about what Valentine put her through. She wishes she could cause him the exact same pain right back, and fleetingly wishes Alec is whooping his ass right now.

As soon as she thinks of her brother, her panic and worry come back, and she shakes her head to push it aside and focus on getting Dot and the others out.

“How are you feeling?” Izzy asks, holding up most of Dot’s weight as Dot finds her footing.

“I’ve been better,” Dot bites back, but Izzy can hear the exhaustion in her tone and see the gratitude in her eyes. She just nods in response.

Izzy helps Dot out of her cage and looks at the other sleeping prisoners in the tunnel. There are five other people she’d got to help - this night isn’t over yet. She’s about to unlock the next cage when a hand on her arm stops her.

“Thank you,” Dot says softly, her eyes looking like they’re brimming with tears.

“You’re welcome,” Izzy says, smiling ever so slightly. “Now, let’s free everyone else and get the fuck out of here.”

___

Alec manages to hoist himself up over the ledge of the building before he stumbles, his right hand clutching his thigh. If he thought the intensity from getting nearly clawed to death by Valentine was bad, then this is a thousand times worse. His entire leg feels like it’s pulsing. The gunshot only grazed him, but the blood and pain are a distraction.

Now, Alec finds it almost too hard to stand, much less web through the maze that is New York City.

Shooting another web, Alec hoists himself up, but he can’t get his balance like before and loses his grip on the edge of the building. His fingers scrabble at nothing as he falls and collides roughly with a fire escape, grunting in pain when he lands on his back.

The gunshot wound throbs like hell and when Alec pulls his hand away from his thigh, his palm is sticky with blood.

Alec uses the railing of the fire escape to hoist himself up. Like this he can see across the city and the streets are insanity - Broadway is backed up with cars, mostly full of people running away from Idris Corp. Everyone is screaming and Alec pulls together whatever strength he has to try and save them. He’s about to climb up the fire escape when he someone shouts at him.

“Hey, Spidey!”

A woman Alec vaguely recognises is looking up at him, a tense smile on her face. She looks like she’s worried he might fall off the fire escape any minute - he can’t say he blames her - and she points to the vehicle she’s standing in front of. Alec squints at it and realises it’s a private ambulance.

“Need a lift?”

It’s not even a question. Alec hops down over the edge, stabilizing himself so he doesn’t fully land on his bad leg. The woman comes next to him and hooks an arm around him, helping him to the ambulance.

“Where are you going to?” the woman asks.

“Idris Corp, please,” Alec grits out, the pain in his leg flaring up again, and the woman calls to the person in the front to start driving. “How -”

“I’m a nurse,” the woman interrupts, meeting Alec’s eyes through the mask. Then she turns her attention to the bullet wound on his leg, looking at it with a calculating gaze as she continues talking distractedly. “I saw you get shot on the news and figured you needed help. You saved my daughter. Giving you a hand was the least I could do.”

The girl on the bridge - Madzie. That was where he’d seen this woman before - she was Madzie’s mom. Alec exhales, closing his eyes momentarily.

“Thank you,” Alec says, genuinely touched. “What’s your name?”

“Catarina,” she replies. Catarina jerks her head towards Alec’s leg. “May I?”

Alec nods, and she looks over the wound on his leg.

“You gotta take better care of yourself,” Catarina says as she shuffles through a big duffle bag next to her, pulling out a ziploc bag and some bandages.

“You’re not the first person to tell me that,” Alec says around a laugh as she hands him a small pill.

“It’s for the pain,” Catarina says, closing the ziploc bag. “Non-drowsy, too.”

Alec eyes the pill suspiciously for a second, unsure if he should be taking medicine from strangers. Catarina just shrugs at him, unwrapping the bandages.

“Your call,” she says, before beginning to wrap his leg up. The ambulance jerks every once in a while as Catarina focuses on the task at hand.

Eventually, Alec does take the pill, because if it doesn’t kill him, fighting Valentine with a shit leg might, so he really doesn’t have a lot to lose.

Catarina finishes wrapping the bandage and sits back. “It won’t hold for long, but it’ll do for now, I hope.”

“Thank you, again,” Alec says. Catarina just sends him a tired smile.

After a moment, the ambulance skids to a stop and Catarina gets to her feet. Alec hops up after her, the adrenaline and the care from a nurse making him feel a little better.

“Go kick some monster ass,” Catarina says as she opens the door, and Alec can’t help but laugh soft and nod, walking out and wasting no time.

He flies himself a few feet up the building before shooting two parallel webs and slingshotting himself up towards the top.

___

When Izzy makes it outside with the six prisoners Valentine kept following behind her, she notices the police cars instantly. They’re surrounding Idris Corp, the cops all moving quickly and following orders.

He’s here, Izzy thinks grimly. She’s clutching Dot’s hand, using it to ground her and remind her that these people are hurt with who knows what chemical in their systems, and they need medical attention right now.

In the crowd, she spots Raphael talking intently with another cop, and rushes his to him after taking a moment to check that everyone in her group is still there and holding up. Gretel is towards the back, looking about ready to pass out from exhaustion, but she’s still awake, for now. Izzy looks at Dot and Dot nods, a mutual understanding between them.

Dot’s got the most strength right now, and she can look after the group while Izzy finds help.

“Raphael!” Izzy calls, running to him. He looks away from his coworker and to her.

“Isabelle, you need to leave Midtown right now,” he says, tone serious and tough, but Izzy can sense the care underneath.

“I need you to get someone to help them. Please,” she says, gesturing to Dot and the others. “They’re hurt - badly. They need a hospital.”

Raphael looks at the group once and then back at Izzy, nodding curtly and unclipping his walkie talkie from his belt, calling for an ambulance to come right away. Izzy smiles weakly, the weight of the situation still in the air around them, but Izzy feels grateful for Raphael’s instant support and trust. Izzy doesn’t think she’d be able to sit him down and explain everything right now. They don’t have a lot of time.

Izzy looks around, at the red and blue lights flashing from the cop cars. Everything is chaos. How has her life turned to this in a matter of months? From losing a family member to Alec becoming Spiderman, it all feels like so much, so fast.

A cop runs up to Raphael and asks him a question, and they talk for a moment before the cop leaves. Raphael turns to Izzy, despite her still looking around, feeling lost and confused and exhausted only from a few hours. She can’t imagine how Alec must feel. He’s always carried the world on his shoulders. This - this must be a thousand times worse.

“Izzy,” Raphael says, about to say something else when he glances behind her, blinking a few times. “Magnus, _gracias a dios_ ,” he says to himself.

Izzy whips around and sees Magnus hugging Dot tightly. Dot has tear streaks down her face, and the relief there makes Izzy want to cry too. Magnus pulls away and wipes her cheeks, his smile wobbly too. His shoulders are tense, and Izzy can tell he’s on edge and just as worried about the state of the city and Alec’s wellbeing as she is.

Dot points to Izzy while her and Magnus chat, and Magnus looks at them. He excuses himself from Dot and runs up to Izzy and Raphael, hugging both of them quickly.

“He’s inside the building,” Magnus says, breathing heavily. “I need to - he needs -” Magnus says, his eyes flickering to Raphael, and Izzy sees the realization on Raphael’s face.

“Magnus,” Raphael says. “Luke and I know. About Spiderman and um,” Raphael looks around to make sure no one else is within earshot. “Alec.”

Izzy is shocked, and when she looks to Magnus she sees that he is too. Magnus fishes in his pocket and takes out a tube of bright blue liquid. The antidote.

“I need to get to him. He needs this to save the city,” Magnus says, his hands shaking as he holds the antidote. “Raphael, please.”

Raphael’s face is professional yet concerned, and Izzy remembers that Raphael and Magnus have been best friends since childhood. There’s a bond between them that’s brotherly and deep and familiar.

“I’ll make sure he gets it. I promise.” Raphael says. Magnus hesitates, as if he’s going to protest and demand to be there with Alec himself - but the thought alone is ludicrous. Everyone’s already worried about Alec, and although Magnus is more than capable of taking care of himself, with the way Raphael is looking at him, there’s no way Magnus is putting himself in any more danger.

Raphael wraps his fingers around the flask of the antidote and nods at Magnus. Magnus finally lets go, and Raphael puts it in his pocket, looking between the two of them.

“You both need to get to safety,” Raphael says, and Izzy shakes her head, pressing her lips together.

“I’m not going anywhere without Alec,” Izzy retorts, and Raphael goes to argue, but ends up just huffing.

“Fine, but you’re waiting in the cop car so someone can keep an eye on you,” Raphael says, and Izzy gives him a grateful smile.

She turns to Magnus, who looks torn. “Dot needs you,” Izzy says, and Magnus looks crestfallen to admit that she’s right. “You’ve done what you could, with the serum and everything. I’ll let you know as soon as I get updates.”

Magnus just nods, turning to Raphael.

“Please make sure he’s okay,” Magnus says, and both Izzy and Raphael know the weight of the words. It’s more than a plea. It embodies what all of them are feeling right now - what Jace is probably feeling at home. They need Alec to survive this.

“You have my word,” Raphael answers, and Magnus lets out the breath he was holding. He hugs Izzy and Raphael once again before walking towards Dot and the rest of the group who are now by an ambulance, getting ready to go.

Izzy walks around the cop car, ready to get inside and sit to wait for _something_ , and she opens the door just as Luke approaches Raphael.

“We need to surround the block and -” Luke starts, but Raphael fishes the antidote out and Luke stops mid sentence. “What is that?”

“Plan B,” Raphael says, looking at the antidote before meeting Luke’s eyes. Izzy watches them curiously. “We need to give it to Alec.”

Luke nods, solemn understanding in his eyes. “I’ll do it. Alec could use the backup anyway.”

“With all due respect, Captain,” Raphael says, and he actually sounds genuine and honest to God a little scared, “you’re needed here. Let me do this.”

Raphael and Luke have a short stare off, probably having an unspoken conversation through just their eyes and Luke nods once. “Okay, Detective.”

“Thank you,” Raphael says. “I made Magnus a promise. I intend to keep it.”

Luke claps Raphael on the shoulder, offering him a weak smile. Raphael looks at Luke, glances at Izzy, and runs inside Idris Corp.

 _Stay safe_ , Izzy thinks to herself. _Both of you._

___

Jace tosses some popcorn in his mouth as he grabs the bowl and makes his way over to Max, who’s sitting on the couch.

“Have you picked a movie yet?” Jace asks, plopping down on the couch as Max reaches over with one hand to grab some popcorn, his other hand flipping through the TV channels.

“Kill Bill is on, but I didn’t - woah,” Max says, his hand holding the popcorn stopping halfway to his mouth. He’s landed on a news channel, Breaking News in all caps being shown on the screen.

“Holy shit,” Jace says automatically, sitting up straighter as the news anchor talks about a monster rumored to be making its way downtown.

Jace’s heart starts pounding when Spiderman is mentioned to be following the monster to the top of an evacuated Idris Corp. His hands suddenly feel clammy and he feels the familiar taste of anxiety on his tongue.

“I hope Spiderman can handle this one,” Max says, and Jace lets out a shuddery breath, unable to take his eyes off the screen. He can’t help feeling bad that Max doesn’t know Spiderman is actually Alec, but he thinks now would be the worst time to tell him, especially since he can’t guarantee Alec’s safety during whatever is about to go down.

“Me too,” Jace says, before excusing himself and looking for his phone. He feels useless in helping Alec, but while Alec is taking care of the entire city, Jace needs to take care of his family. With a shaky hand, he takes his phone off the kitchen counter and dials Izzy’s phone number.

___

Alec poises himself on top of the peak of the glass pyramid on top of Idris Corp’s roof. The roof is large and has a lot of different elements to it, but Alec spots Raziel instantly - it’s the highest point of Idris Corp. The tall antenna reaches up into the sky, and from what Alec can remember, that entire thing is Raziel. It’s an incredible machine that’s made to disperse filtered air to the city - and there Valentine stands, in full monster mode, trying to use it to poison all of New York City.

Valentine is on the only platform on Raziel, where there’s an opening into the inside of the tube. Alec can see a bright green liquid being put inside, and he knows that Valentine got his hands on the extra serum.

“Detonation in T-minus 2 minutes,” the machine says, and Alec springs into action. He shoots a web at the antenna and swings himself in a circle around Raziel. He sees Valentine’s surprise when he notices he’s not alone, and Alec tries not to smirk. When he rounds the circle, he comes closer and shoves Valentine off of the platform with a hard kick.

Valentine, though, grabs onto Alec’s foot unexpectedly, tugging Alec down with him as he falls right onto a giant light fixture. Alec crawls out, trying to get away, just barely dodging Valentine’s giant claw coming down next to him, trying to grab Alec.

Alec shoots another web at Raziel, trying to get the fuck away when Valentine grabs his leg again, tugging him downwards. It just so happens to be Alec’s bad leg too, and Alec gasps in pain, and before he knows it he’s being flung over the side of the building.

Looking down, everything feels like it’s going in slow motion, but he shakes himself out of it just in time to hook a web onto the edge of the building and swing himself onto the side, crawling up. When he reaches the top, Valentine is already waiting for him with a giant tank of gas. Alec reacts instantly as Valentine slams the tank against the side of the building, watching it evaporate while Alec gets away.

Valentine roars in anger, and Alec shoots a sly web onto Valentine’s face to shut him up. Just like at the school library, it distracts Valentine momentarily, giving Alec enough time to backflip off of the wall, back onto the rooftop and kick Valentine in the chest, getting them away from the edge of the building.

Valentine is grumbling in anger now, taking a step towards Alec. Alec hooks a web onto Valentine as an anchor and swings away onto a rooftop element, dodging Valentine’s every swing.

Alec needs to get to the serum. He needs to figure out how to get that crap out of Raziel.

He hooks a web onto various parts of the rooftop around the antenna and swings himself higher, landing on the metal ladder on the curve of Raziel. Alec takes a look to see where Valentine is, and sees another huge tank coming straight for him.

There’s not enough time to fully dodge the hit, and Alec just barely manages to get out of the way. He loses his footing, though, and flies backwards, closing his eyes and landing on the rooftop ground with a heavy thunk. There’s a huge possibility Alec just rebruised himself.

Alec opens his eyes and just so happens to have a perfect view of the platform. He notices the now cracked tank, and sees that it’s not just plain gas. It’s liquid nitrogen, and it’s turning the small part of Raziel it reaches into ice.

Alec hears Valentine before seeing him, and knows he’s about to pounce. Raising his hands, Alec shoots a web somewhere further away and tugs himself just as Valentine pounces on an empty floor. As he slides away, he stops next to a large metal box labeled liquid nitrogen. He can aim it at Valentine, maybe catch him off guard or possibly freeze him.

Aiming both of his wrists at the box, he shoots two webs, but out of nowhere Valentine steps right on the webbing. He roars loudly, and Alec tries to tug away, but Valentine makes use of his tail, wrapping it around Alec’s neck. He holds both of Alec’s hands tightly, and Alec feels like he’s cutting off his circulation at every point.

Alec groans and gasp, feeling his breathing coming in short. Valentine is so much stronger than him. Alec can’t kick him away, can’t web with the amount of pressure on his wrists. He’s just struggling and slowly losing air.

Valentine moves both of Alec’s wrists into one giant clawed hand and uses his other one to peel Alec’s mask off. Alec’s face tingles in a few areas, letting him know he’s definitely not squeaky clean. He can feel a nasty wound on his hairline, the blood slowly flowing down, and Alec can taste the iron on his lips.

“Poor Alec Lightwood,” Valentine sneers, his cocky and sinister grin somehow familiar on the giant creatures. His stone cold eyes are the same too as they bore into Alec’s. “Everyone just keeps leaving you, don’t they?”

Alec struggles, refusing to let Valentine’s words get to him.

“What a shame that Hodge had to die,” Valentine says. “Killing him was a difficult decision, Alec, you must know that, but I should have done it years ago.”

Alec’s heart is pounding in his chest, his mind screaming at him to get out of the situation. He can’t believe what he’s hearing, but he mostly can’t believe he didn’t see it coming. Of course Hodge’s killer was in front of Alec the whole time. Alec’s life has always hid missing pieces, it’s always felt like an unfinished story. This - Valentine - maybe this is the part he’s missing. Maybe this is the ending.

“Starkweather used to report on you and your siblings, did you know that? Tell me everything you all were doing. Even with you, he was loyal to me,” Valentine says, his face close to Alec’s as he mocks him. “I wish I was there to see the look on his face when he bled out.”

Alec’s stomach is turning, his eyes burning with unshed tears as Valentine forces him to deal with the demons of his past.

“I wish I could have seen the look on your parents’ faces, too, when their plane _accidentally_ blew up,” Valentine cackles. “What, Lightwood? Did you not know that was me? I’ve been in your life since you were a boy, Alec. When you came into Idris Corp, well, it was a gift. A sign that our lives weren’t done being connected.”

Valentine tuts, his eyes widening with a wild and crazed look. Alec can’t stop fucking shaking.

“Emotions cloud your judgement, Alec,” Valentine taunts, and Alec wants to scream, but he’s only getting weaker by the second, the tail around his neck tightening its grip. “And I will kill off everyone you love one by one until you are all alone.”

“He’s not alone,” someone says from behind Valentine, and then the sound of a gun cocking. Valentine turns around and roars, visibly angered from the interruption, and Alec just manages to get a glimpse of Raphael, before Raphael fires his gun at the liquid nitrogen.

The tube from it flies off and Alec catches it, pointing it in Valentine’s face. Valentine screams in pain and protest and drops Alec almost instantly. Alec takes a lungful of air, but doesn’t let himself forget that Valentine is still standing right there. He aims the tube at Valentine as Raphael starts shooting at the monster.

“Detonation in T-minus 45 seconds.”

Valentine fights back against the nitrogen, roaring, but between Raphael’s bullets and Alec’s aim, he’s not making any gains on them. Alec notices the drop behind Valentine that leads to a lower level of more tanks of liquid nitrogen, and Alec tosses the tube in that direction, backflipping and kicking Valentine in the chest so he falls over the railing and into the pit.

Alec crouches next to Raphael, ready to pounce in case Valentine pops back up. Raphael keeps shooting, and despite the gunshots looking like they don’t have much effect on Valentine, it serves as a good distraction. They both approach the pit cautiously, the bullets from Raphael’s large gun piercing through the air.

“Hey,” Raphael says in the middle of shooting, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tube of bright blue liquid. “A gift from Magnus,” he says, holding the tube out to Alec.

Alec knows what it is right away, and he grabs it. Magnus managed to finish the antidote. Which also means that if launched into the air, will disable Valentine’s powers too. It has to be released.

Alec keeps his eyes on Valentine, hesitating momentarily, but Raphael glances at him. “I got this, Alec. Go!” Alec looks at Raphael and takes one last look at Valentine in a mist of nitrogen before bolting for Raziel.

The mechanical voice speaks up.

“T-minus 30 seconds.”

Climbing up the antenna as fast as he can, Alec feels his heart racing.

“Detonation in T-minus 10 seconds.”

As he gets to the platform, the whole structure starts to move, and when Alec looks down he sees Valentine crawling up the antenna at full speed.

“9.”

Raziel is swaying side to side now, and Alec holds on with one arm as he studies the machine.

“8.”

Valentine releases a deadly roar, sounding closer than before.

“7.”

Alec presses two buttons.

“6.”

The spinning green serum stops.

“5.”

The tube is ejected from the machine.

“4.”

Alec replaces the green tube with Magnus’ blue one.

“3.”

Alec shoves it back into place, feeling a large hand around his ankle, tugging him downwards.

“2.”

Valentine and Alec fall together, but Alec manages to grab onto the platform, holding both his own weight and Valentine’s.

“1.”

The serum launches into the sky and it booms like lightning. Both Valentine and Alec freeze in anticipation, watching the bright light in the clouds crackle. It breaks apart like waves in the sky, and it feels like rain coming down. Not until it hits his face does Alec realise that it is almost identical to water for him. When he looks down, though, Valentine’s face is one of horror. With every drop on Valentine’s face, the monster fades, leaving behind a man.

Valentine starts grunting in discomfort and pain, his voice still throaty and low, and he claws at his face with one hand, meeting Alec’s eyes with a look of despair. Alec swings his leg and kicks Valentine off, climbing up on the platform and watching Valentine fall, his screams going from deep ones to his regular voice.

He knocks against Raziel a few times, and the part of Raziel’s foundation that had been frozen by the liquid nitrogen earlier cracks. The entire structure starts to tilt slowly, and Alec braces himself. He looks at the direction the antenna is falling and jumps out of the way, covering his head for protection. The sound of metal crashing into metal is deafening and honestly terrifying on its own, and Alec squeezes his eyes shut and puts his hands over his ears to try and quiet down the noise.

After a minute, it seems to quiet down, and Alec looks at the antenna hanging off the side of the building. Under it, though, is Valentine with a giant chunk of metal in his torso.

Alec slowly walks over to him when he notices his chest moving.

He’s all man now physically, but Alec still sees a monster.

Alec scrubs a hand over his face, wiping off some of the dried blood and dirt. Valentine meets his eyes, his breathing becoming more shallow, and he smiles. It’s not genuine or kind, but full of malice. Almost as if he’s done his part in screwing up Alec’s life.

Valentine begins to chuckle darkly, though it seems a lot less intimidating when he’s an average man, and Alec just watches him.

Alec’s emotions wash over him like a tidal wave. He can’t believe that this man was the reason for all his misfortune. Valentine’s company was the start of his parent’s careers but also the end of their lives. Valentine made Alec and his siblings orphans, not once but twice now.

A cloud of doubt circles around Alec, whispering what ifs into his ear. What if he’d figured it out earlier? What if he hadn’t fought with Hodge that night? What if he’d never gone into that spider room?

It’s almost too much to bear, and Alec stares down the man who has done nothing but cause him pain, and watches him die.

It takes one more breath, and Valentine slowly stills, the end of vile laugh still lingering on his lips.

Alec looks away, tears burning at his eyes when he hears a groan in the distance and remembers.

He breaks out into a run, suddenly on edge.

“Raphael!” he calls, squatting next to Raphael when he reaches him near the pit from before. Raphael is still holding up his gun, but there’s blood staining most of his clothes.

He’s still breathing though, and Alec inspects him carefully, a lump in his throat.

“The - the monster,” Raphael says, his eyes scanning around as if Valentine could pop up at any moment.

“It’s okay,” Alec says, shaking his head. “He’s dead. We did it.”

Raphael tries to smile at that, nodding.

“Let’s get you out of here, okay?” Alec says, trying to get his arms around Raphael. At every touch, Raphael hisses in pain. His eyes start drooping, and Alec feels his heart sink. “Hey, no, stay with me Raphael, okay? Help is coming.”

Raphael swallows, studying Alec’s face. “You - you can’t be here when they arrive.” Raphael tries to shift in a comfortable position, but his face is in a permanent grimace.

“I’m not leaving you,” Alec says stubbornly. His eyes are wet, and although Alec subconsciously knows why, he refuses to accept it. Not when there’s still a glimmer of hope.

“I was wrong about you, Alec,” Raphael says, and Alec averts his gaze momentarily, the confession shaking him to his core. “You’re a hero, plain and simple. I can see why Magnus is so fond of you.”

Alec chokes out a small laugh at that, and Raphael grins at him.

“The city needs you, Spiderman,” Raphael says, moving his arm a little and holding up Alec’s abandoned mask to him. “You’re gonna need this.”

Alec chews on his lower lip, trying to blink back the tears as he takes the mask.

“You’re gonna make enemies,” Raphael says, looking into Alec’s eyes. “People will get hurt. Sometimes people closest to you.”

Alec hears the meaning behind it before Raphael has to clarify.

He’s talking about Magnus. As long as Magnus holds Alec’s secret, Alec is putting him in the line of fire. He’s endangering him. Magnus has always been something so good for Alec. Always so unbelievably kind and thoughtful, as Alec tried to be for him, too.

Alec almost wishes he could take Magnus out of this equation. If his siblings are there without choice, well, Magnus has one.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to unlearn something. Magnus doesn’t only know Alec’s secret, he also has Alec’s heart.

“I need you to promise me something,” Raphael says, groaning in pain, his breaths coming out in shorter puffs. “You protect him. You keep him safe.”

There are tears in Raphael’s eyes as he talks about his childhood friend, and Alec can’t blink back the tears falling down his own cheeks.

“Promise me,” Raphael says, his voice cracking.

Alec can’t seem to form words, so he just nods, and Raphael smiles a little, looking a little more at peace. Alec watches him, his hand on Raphael’s forearm, and the next time Raphael closes his eyes, his chest stops moving.

Alec gasps from the sorrow that feels like it’s crushing over him, and he cries. Cries for Magnus’ best friend, for a hero in the police force. Cries for a man he never got the chance to know because he was too tied up in his own thing.

He cries because Valentine was right, he keeps losing people. Alec pulls back and screams, his whole body shaking.

He’s angry, and he’s tired, and crying over an unmoving bled out body is starting to feel all too familiar.

___

_“It wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, I’ll tell you that much. Raphael thought it was garbage, too,” Magnus says, swirling his chopsticks around the noodles. Rather than staying in today, Alec had suggested that they go out and get dinner somewhere. He had a good day at class, getting two A+’s on his projects from hell, and he kind of wanted to celebrate - with Magnus._

_Alec hums, eating some of his ramen. “Kind of sucks you had to pay money to go see it, then.”_

_“Ah, well that’s the beauty in it, isn’t it?” Magnus says, leaning over the table with a mysterious glint in his eye. “I made Raphael pay. He dragged me to the dang movie, he might as well buy my ticket like a good friend.”_

_Laughing, Alec eats some more. He tries really hard not to think about how close they are in this tiny restaurant in the East Village. He tries not to think about how easy and natural it is to hang out with Magnus. He tries, almost all the time, not to think about what these not-dates would be like if they held hands, or if Alec could lean over and kiss Magnus right now. Needless to say, he fails at not thinking about all of those._

_“I still need to meet Raphael,” Alec says as Magnus chews some of his food thoughtfully._

_“You do,” Magnus says. “He’s a pain in the ass and might not like you immediately, but he’ll come around. He’s a tough cookie but he’s just bad at processing his emotions.”_

_Alec nods, listening to Magnus._

_“I’m kind of stuck with him now, anyway,” Magnus says, but Alec catches the teasing tone in his voice. “We’ve been best friends since I moved to Long Island. My mom thinks Raphael is amazing, and his mom and mine get together for gardening club every Thursday. It’s adorable.”_

_“Sounds like it,” Alec says after swallowing some noodles._

_“Yeah,” Magnus says thoughtfully, a small smile on his face. “He’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a brother. He’s family at this point. Would probably be one of the best men at my wedding.”_

_Alec grins, taking a sip of water. “I bet he has all kind of embarrassing stories about you.”_

_“Alexander!” Magnus says, pretending to act flabbergasted. “I knew you only wanted to meet my friends so you could get juicy tales of my childhood.”_

_“But that’s not a no, meaning I can totally ask whenever I meet him,” Alec teases, and Magnus laughs in return._

_“You could,” Magnus says, rolling his eyes fondly. “You both are going to get along well eventually, I can feel it.”_

_They eat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. After they finish, they split the bill and Alec leans back in his chair, his stomach full and heart happy._

_“One time,” Magnus says, a far away look in his eyes. “I was getting bullied in school because for Halloween I wanted to dress up as a wizard - but not Harry Potter-esque, think more warlock, with an apothecary and such. Anyway, everyone else dressed up as more basic things, like mummies and skeletons, and then there was me, in a dark red velvet cloak with intense contacts in and carrying a staff with a glowing ball.”_

_Alec smiles a little at the mental image of a young Magnus as Magnus plays with the paper of his straw._

_“Anyway, I went all out, and there was a group of boys who thought I looked weird and the costume was too over the top, and they tried to rip it apart. I could have handled the situation on my own just fine,” Magnus says a little playfully, “but Raphael stepped in, dressed as a vampire, and hissed at them until those three bullies ran away screaming. Me and him laughed about it for ages. There’s a picture in my room of us from that night when we went trick or treating.”_

_“That’s adorable,” Alec can’t help but hold back, “and I’m glad you had a best friend when you were being bullied.”_

_“Me too,” Magnus says. “I love him dearly, that Raphael.”_

_Alec smiles. “Well, then I’m looking forward to meeting him someday.”_


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **tw:** mention of violence (nothing explicit!!), mention of minor character death 
> 
> writing highlights of ch9:  
> 
> 
>   * “do noT BRING ME THE BACKPACK DISCOURSE FUCK A BACKPACK ID ONTK ONW ” - elle
>   * “bc plot” - a mood while writing spidey
>   * “out of the left field this suddenly becomes an alec/luke fic” - charl
> 

> 
> thank you to ceci for beta'ing!! <3
> 
> **be sure to read the all of the end notes!!! it's v important!!!!!!!!**
> 
> enjoy the chapter :**
> 
> (feel free to @ us or use the hashtag #dodfic while livetweeting!!)

**** It’s late by the time Alec and Izzy arrive back at the apartment. Alec had tried to web for a while, Izzy holding on to him, but after they’d nearly fallen for the second time she made him put her down and refused to move until he got down, too.

She’d handed him his backpack, which the cops had retrieved from the school, and told him to get changed. After that, the two of them got a cab back to Alec and Jace’s apartment. It was probably for the best - there was still an arrest warrant out for Spiderman, and Alec was so exhausted that he didn’t know whether he would have made it all the way home. He would never have forgiven himself if something had happened to Izzy because of him.

Now, Izzy supports him with an arm around his waist as they stumble into the apartment block. Alec heaves a sigh as he looks at the stairs, and then Izzy’s free hand is in his, tugging gently, but insistently.

“It’s not far,” she says, squeezing his hand. “Then you can eat and we can patch you up.”

Alec exhales raggedly and then nods, feeling like he’s trying to move through water. The only thing keeping him afloat is his sister’s presence at his side. They take the stairs slowly, and it feels like years before they’re finally at the front door. While Izzy rummages through Alec’s bag to find his keys, Alec leans heavily against the wall.

Even looking at Magnus’ front door right now sends shockwaves over Alec’s body. He feels numb, disbelieving that Raphael is really gone, so he can’t even imagine how Magnus must be feeling. It had broken Alec’s heart to leave Idris Corp without comforting Magnus about what happened, gathering him in his arms and trying to shoulder some of his pain, but Raphael had been right. Alec needed to get away from there without being seen.

Izzy gets the door open and nods for Alec to come inside. Before they’ve even taken two steps in, Jace and Max are there, wearing identical expressions of worry. Jace instantly launches himself at Alec, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck and hugging him tightly. Alec’s heart breaks, imagining how worried his brother must have been. He wraps his arms around Jace and tries to stay grounded and not cry. 

Jace pulls away after a moment and wraps Izzy in a tight hug too, asking her what happened. Everyone in the room pretends not to hear the tears in Jace’s voice. 

Max looks at Alec uncertainly, gaze sweeping over him and checking for injuries. Alec reaches for his bag and takes it from Izzy, who doesn’t pay it any attention. He rifles through it until he finds the FIFA game Max had asked for, the one he’d bought the day he found Valentine’s lab, and hands it out to Max.

His voice feels rough from disuse. “Here,” he says. Max blinks at the game and then at Alec, confused. His eyes dart to the mangled Spidey suit in Alec’s bag where the game had been nestled, then up to Alec’s weak smile. A strangled noise makes its way out out of Max’s throat.

“You’re  _ Spiderman _ -” Max manages, looking like he’s been punched in the stomach, and Alec doesn’t even know where to start. He lets the game fall from his hand and gathers Max into a hug as Max’s eyes well with tears. He wraps his arms around Alec and burrows against him.

“I hate you,” Max says, but he doesn’t sound angry, only worried and relieved. “Thank fuck you’re alive.”

“Language,” Alec chides distractedly, and Max just scoffs and hugs him tighter. Alec rests his cheek against his little brother’s head and allows himself a moment to count how lucky he is. He made it home.

He catches Jace’s eye over the top of Max’s head. Jace is watching them with a strange expression, a mix of fondness and frustration and something Alec can’t quite decipher. 

Max disentangles himself from Alec to hug Izzy, who pulls him close and strokes his hair. Max is taller than her and Alec’s heart squeezes at the sight. 

“I’m glad you’re here. You promised me you’d try and be safe.” Jace says, his voice cracking a little.

“I’m sorry,” Alec says, throat thick with emotion. He feels like such a disappointment. He couldn’t keep his promise to Jace, he couldn’t save Raphael, he let Magnus down, he put Izzy in danger. 

He’s not good enough.

Jace pats him on the back a couple of times and then moves away, breathing out heavily and wiping at his eyes. Alec looks away, trying to compose himself. He can feel the weight of everything crashing down on him, but now isn’t the time to break down. 

Izzy tells them she’s going to take a shower, and Max goes to get changed into his pyjamas. Jace volunteers to make food for Izzy and Alec, and the three of them leave Alec alone in the hallway with nothing but his thoughts for company. 

He closes his eyes, dropping his head back against the doorframe. The jolt hurts but it’s nothing compared to how battered and bruised his body already is and the pain of his failures. He can’t believe he didn’t see that Valentine was behind everything to do with his parents and Hodge being killed, and just adds it to the list of things he fucked up. He should have realised.

Alec struggles to breathe and sinks to the floor. He doesn’t know whether to believe what Valentine said about Hodge betraying them, but he doesn’t see why he’d lie about it, apart from being twisted enough to just want to cause Alec more pain. 

As raw as it makes him feel, he knows it’s true, though. He finally knows why Hodge was so shifty and reluctant to answer any questions about Valentine all those weeks ago, why he didn’t want any of them to have anything to do with the man or Idris Corp. If only Alec had listened.

Self-hatred rises like bile in his throat and Alec forces himself to draw in deep breaths until he feels less light-headed. He’s distantly aware of footsteps drawing closer, so he pushes himself up from the floor, body protesting, and tries to act normal as he stumbles to the kitchen.

Jace is serving up two plates of meatloaf when Alec gets there, and, despite everything, he chuckles, a little delirious. Jace just gives him a strange look, but his smile is kind when he comes to sit down at the table.

“You okay, buddy?” he asks, concerned. Alec manages to drag his gaze up from the table to Jace’s face.

“No,” he answers honestly, shrugging lopsidedly. It feels like there’s a hole in his chest and he has no clue how to make it go away. 

Jace nods, clapping Alec on the shoulder. Izzy and Max come and join them, Izzy wearing one of Alec’s old hoodies. She looks like she’s been crying but Alec doesn’t call her on it; he feels like crying, too. He’s just sad he couldn’t be there to comfort her - and that’s preferable to thinking she didn’t  _ want  _ to go to him for comfort.

Alec pokes at the meatloaf on his plate. Across from him, Izzy starts eating robotically, staring at a spot on the table. 

“What happened?” Max asks. He’s sitting at the table with them even though he and Jace aren’t eating, and he wrings his hands as he talks. “On the news they kept saying people were evacuating - there was a rumor about a monster on the loose. Apparently Spiderman was fighting it, but he was gone by the time they could get cameras up there. And then they said that a police officer died.”

The words are like shards of glass and Alec’s fork slips from his grasp, landing with a clatter against his plate. Izzy leaves her food, too, and covers her mouth with a shaking hand.

“It was Raphael,” she says, the words muffled. “Raphael Santiago, Magnus’ friend. Valentine Morgenstern killed him.”

Jace’s brow furrows. “Isn’t he your  _ boss? _ ”

Izzy closes her eyes and nods, as if even the movement is bringing her pain. “He’s  _ evil _ ,” she says, voice thick. “He was experimenting on people and keeping them in cages and - you wouldn’t believe it, I -”

She breaks off on a sob and Max stands up to go to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Alec watches them, guilt and sorrow swirling in his stomach. 

“Were you there, Alec?” Jace asks. Alec gives a jerky nod, the image of Raphael’s body floating before his mind.

“Yeah,” Alec says. “Look, I -” His voice breaks and he clears his throat. Sniffing wetly, he gazes around at his siblings, who meet his eyes one by one. “We need to talk.”

“Alec?” Max asks. He’s looking at Alec with wide eyes, and it hits Alec how  _ young  _ Max is. He’s just lost Hodge and now, with the revelation that Alec is Spiderman and someone Alec and Izzy had been with that night died, belated panic and worry that he would lose the two of them must be hitting him.

Izzy’s lifts her chin, eyes drier now. “You better tell us everything,” she says, a tone of desperation in her voice. She seems tired, not just from the events of the evening, but from being kept in the dark. Alec sees himself reflected in her, when he went to Hodge for answers and was denied.

Jace’s eyes dart to Izzy at that, and then he looks back at Alec. “No more secrets?” he asks.

Alec inhales deeply. He has no clue where to begin the story, but he owes it to his siblings to tell them everything -  _ everything _ , right from the start. About his parents and Hodge and Valentine, and how he really got his powers, and about what happened tonight at Idris Corp. It’s not going to be easy, but he has to do it. 

Alec nods. “No more secrets.”

___

Alec wakes blearily the next day, using his arm to shield his eyes against the rays of early summer sun filtering in behind his curtains. He squints at his alarm clock and feels momentarily guilty about having slept in till three in the afternoon, but he had been up till the early hours talking to his siblings, and he’s grateful his body’s had time to recover.

He lies there for a few moments, not ready to leave the comfort of his cocoon of blankets, but now he feels vaguely normal a gain, there’s only one person on his mind: Magnus.

Alec’s got no clue what happened to his phone - the last time he remembers having it was at the study session with Aline and Raj, which feels like a decade ago. He doesn’t want to invade Magnus’ privacy or push him if he doesn’t want to talk, but Magnus had been his rock after Hodge died. Alec cares so much about Magnus that he can’t stomach the idea of Magnus hurting without even attempting to go and help comfort him.

He pushes himself up from the bed and gets dressed, then leaves the apartment as quietly as he can. Izzy and Max had slept in Jace’s room so Jace was on the couch, still snoring as Alec snuck out the door.

Alec raps lightly on Magnus’ front door. He waits a minute or two before knocking again, slightly louder. If he doesn’t get an answer this time he’s ready to head back in and just text Magnus to let him know he’s thinking of him, but just as he’s turning away, the door opens.

Magnus lifts his eyes to meet Alec’s gaze and it seems like even that movement costs him effort. He’s wearing a plain black top and grey sweatpants, his expression grief-stricken.

“Alec,” he says heavily. He stands there for a moment, eyes flitting over Alec’s body, and then he looks away. 

“Magnus, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

Alec reaches for Magnus’ hand, but Magnus hugs his arms around himself and clears his throat. It hurts, but it’s not about Alec. He licks his lips, unsure of what to say.

There’s an eternal pause, and then Magnus steps back, hand on the edge of the front door. “Come in.”

Alec walks in, trying to take up as little space as possible. Magnus shuts the door and it clicks loudly in the silence between them. He shakes his head, then turns towards Alec.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he says, then he exhales harshly and scrubs a hand over his face. “I am, truly, I just - I can’t -”

“I get it,” Alec says immediately. “It’s alright.”

He hovers about a foot away from Magnus, watching him closely for any sign that Magnus is uncomfortable and might want him to leave. Magnus looks back at him.

“What can I do?” Alec asks, taking a tiny step closer. “Tell me what to do. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

Magnus looks away, blinking rapidly. His expression falters into something more vulnerable and tentatively Alec reaches for him again, giving Magnus enough time to move away before Alec’s hand touches him. 

Alec rests his hand on Magnus’ shoulder and just as Magnus is turning his head to look at him, angling his body towards Alec, rather than away, Magnus’ phone trills loudly.

Magnus’ face tightens and he steps away from Alec to find his phone. 

“I should take this,” he says, then disappears into the kitchen with just a glance at Alec. 

Alec feels absolutely awful. Now he’s here, it’s painfully obvious that his presence in Magnus’ loft is just a reminder of Raphael’s death - as if Magnus needed one - and that’s why Magnus is reluctant to be near him. He can’t leave, because he doesn’t want Magnus to think he’s going to run at the first sign of things getting tough, but he can’t stay, because even by being here he’s causing Magnus pain. 

He’s midway through his internal debate when Magnus pads back through into the sitting room and clears his throat. “Sorry. It was Luke, talking about the…funeral.” Magnus’ mouth twists and he glances down.

Alec nods. “Yeah, of course.” He pauses, rubbing his fingers together nervously. “Magnus, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to be there. I mean, to pay my respects and - well, I know what it’s like to lose your family. I want to support you in whatever way I can.”

Magnus turns his gaze to Alec, eyebrows lifted in surprise. He covers his mouth with one hand and nods. “That would mean a lot to me,” he says slowly, when he’s gathered his words. 

Now he’s looked at Alec, he can’t seem to move his eyes away. He opens his mouth and then closes it with an audible click, shaking his head. 

Alec steps closer. “Anything, Magnus,” he says softly. “You just have to ask.”

“I think I need time on my own,” Magnus says hesitantly, and Alec can read on his face that that’s not what he was going to say originally. It’s what he chose to go with, though, so Alec respects his wishes with a nod and moves to leave. 

Magnus’ hand on his arm stops him. When Alec turns back, Magnus looks surprised at himself, like he hadn’t meant to reach out, but when Alec opens his arms, Magnus doesn’t hesitate before walking into them and burying his face against Alec’s neck, hugging him tightly. 

Alec wraps his arms around Magnus’ waist and just holds him, letting Magnus take whatever comfort he needs. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, knowing it’s never going to be enough.

Magnus is the first to break away, clearing his throat and looking around the living room, anywhere but at Alec. Alec cups his cheek and then lets his hand drop. 

“I’ll call you,” Magnus says, looking at a point over Alec’s shoulder. Alec doesn’t bother explaining about his phone and just nods. He leaves Magnus’ apartment with one last glance back at him, wishing more than anything he could actually help. Magnus’ front door shuts behind him with a click of finality, and it’s just a reminder that Alec can’t do anything to make the situation better.

___

The day that dawns for Raphael’s funeral is overcast and grey. Alec’s body feels like lead as he puts his suit on, not just because of what he knows the day will bring, but because he’s instantly thrown back to the last time he wore it. Hodge’s funeral seems almost like a lifetime ago. So much has changed, but the little reminders still trip Alec up sometimes. 

Raphael gets a funeral with full honours as a police officer killed in the line of duty, with many important people making speeches in Raphael’s honor. Alec spots Magnus in the crowd next to Luke and Magnus’ mother. She’s holding hands with a woman he assumes is Raphael’s mom, both of them unable to hold back their tears. Alec’s eyes shift back to Magnus, who seems like he’s barely holding it together himself. Alec wishes he was there next to him, but he knows Magnus needs to be surrounded by the people he loves during a time like this. Alec respects his need for space - he does, but it doesn’t hurt any less. 

Alec’s heart is heavy in his chest by the time the services roll around and the food is brought out. The space is set up beautifully, with a small table towards one side of the room with Raphael’s photo on it. Alec came primarily for Magnus and Luke, but without his siblings or anyone else, he feels kind of useless. He doesn’t know these people, and Alec realizes that he didn’t know Raphael that well, and yet the man still risked his life for him. 

Alec swallows the water in the glass he’s holding, trying to clear the lump in his throat, and wishes it was whiskey instead. 

Glancing around the room, Alec spots Luke finishing up a conversation with some people, and makes his way over. He doesn’t know if Luke even wants to talk to him right now, but the least Alec can do is offer his condolences and offer his support in any way Luke might want to take it.

“Hey,” Alec says, approaching Luke. Luke looks over at him, brows rising slightly, then he smiles sadly. 

“Hey, Alec,” Luke says. “Thank you for being here.”

Alec just shakes his head. “Thank you for letting me come,” he says. He looks around at the rest of the mourners; Raphael’s family are standing with Magnus and his mom, talking quietly. “I didn’t want to intrude, but I wanted to pay my respects to Raphael. He was a good man.”

Luke sighs heavily. “He was a great man,” he says, and then he shakes his head. “A great man who should still be with us.”

Alec nods. “I’m really sorry about what happened, Luke,” he says, hoping Luke can tell how sincere he is. He can’t pretend to know how close Magnus, Luke and Raphael were, but if their relationship was anything like that which Alec shares with his siblings, he can’t imagine the hole that must have been ripped into their world with Raphael’s death.

“Thanks, Alec,” Luke says. He glances away, his voice taking on a bitter tone. “I just can’t help thinking that I should have stopped him sooner, and then none of this would have happened.”

It takes a minute for it to click in Alec’s mind. “Valentine?” he asks, feeling wrong-footed. “That wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault.” Alec frowns. “You didn’t know what he was capable of. It’s not on you. It’s on Valentine.”

Luke just stares at the photo of Raphael on the table with a pained expression on his face, eventually nodding the tiniest amount. Alec knows how hard it is to stop blaming yourself for something, though; to let go of the fact that you had no control over the situation and you can’t change things now seems like an impossible task. 

“How’s, uh, Magnus holding up?” Alec asks, awkwardly trying to change the subject. Luke doesn’t comment on it; his lips even tip up at the corners the barest amount before he catches sight of the Banes standing with the Santiagos and the smile dies.

“Honestly?” Luke asks, and Alec nods. “It’s destroying him. I spoke to his mom earlier and she said she’s never seen him like this before, not even when his dad left.”

“I know they were like brothers,” Alec says, shaking his head. He swallows the lump in his throat. “I can’t even think about what I’d do if one of my siblings...well, you saw me after Hodge died.”

Luke wrings his hands together. “Grief is a terrible thing,” he says. “We’ve all been supporting each other through it. It’s always hard, losing your partner. Even though I’m not family, they’ve been rocks to me, too.”

“Is there anything I can do for you, Luke?” Alec asks. The question seems too much for Luke to answer right at that moment, so Alec just pats Luke’s arm. “If there is, you just need to give me a call. I know we’re not that close, but you helped me a lot when Hodge died, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Luke says gratefully, smiling slightly at Alec. “Knowing Magnus has someone he can turn to also takes a weight off.”

Alec can’t stop his eyes from darting over to where Magnus is standing. He turns back to Luke, but Luke’s already moved away, standing close to an auburn-haired woman who has her hand linked in his. The fact that Luke seemed to think Magnus might want to seek comfort from Alec gives Alec the confidence to go and talk to Magnus for the first time in what feels like forever - he’s not seen Magnus since the day after Raphael died, and since then they’ve only spoken on the phone a couple of times. 

As he’s making his way over, Magnus watches him; his eyes land briefly on Alec before moving away and then back to him, and once he’s started looking at Alec, he doesn’t look away. His expression shows a trace of surprise, like he wasn’t expecting Alec to still be here, and Alec tries to smile the smallest amount in reassurance.

Magnus leaves his mother’s side and crosses the distance towards Alec, coming to a stop in front of him.

“Alexander,” he says, voice soft. He reaches forward, hand brushing Alec’s forearm, and Alec briefly catches Magnus’ hand in his own before Magnus pulls away. “Thank you for coming.”

“No, I, uh -” Alec’s voice feels rusty and he clears his throat. “I wanted to. I wanted to make sure you’re - well, not okay, but…”

Magnus nods. He’s here in front of Alec but he doesn’t really seem present, his mind clearly elsewhere. Alec swallows, wishing he was better at this. He sees where Magnus is looking, over at his mom and Raphael’s family.

“Is she…?” Alec starts, but words are failing him today, another reminder of his inadequacy. 

“She’s coping,” Magnus says with an inattentive shrug. “Guadalupe needs emotional support right now, but I know Mama’s heart is broken, too. Raph was like her son.” He blinks rapidly, looking away. “I’m trying to be strong for her.”

Alec nods. “If you get a chance, will you tell her that I’m thinking of you all and that I’m sorry?”

Magnus composes himself and nods, bringing his gaze back to Alec. “I will,” he says. He looks at Alec for a long moment, then says, “Can we talk?”

The unusual hesitancy in Magnus’ demeanour has Alec a little worried; Magnus hasn’t been this careful with him since the very first days when Hodge died.

“Sure,” Alec says. “What is it?”

Magnus glances around the room, his eyes landing on Raphael’s family again. He shakes his head. “Not...not right now. I thought I might walk home, if you wanted to join me.” 

Alec nods. He takes Magnus’ hand again, covering it with his own. Magnus looks away, his face drawn. 

“I am really glad you’re here, Alec. It’s good to see you,” he says, squeezing Alec’s hand, and despite the reassurance in his words, something twists unpleasantly in Alec’s tummy at the expression on Magnus’ face. He’d move heaven and earth if it meant never seeing Magnus in pain again.

“Well, we all need someone to keep us going sometimes.”

___

Alec’s uneasiness doesn’t abate through the rest of the funeral; he still feels out of place, and ends up making small talk with some of the people who seemed to know Raphael as an acquaintance, like Alec himself, rather than Raphael’s close family. He doesn’t want to bother Luke or follow Magnus around like a lost puppy - he respects their need for privacy and time with their families.

Having promised Magnus he’d walk home with him meant Alec had to stay till the end, and he watches Magnus say goodbye to his mom with something like sorrow. The way Magnus’ hands clutch too tightly at the back of his mom’s cardigan and the way she buries her face in his chest aren’t lost on him; they’re hurting, badly, and he’s powerless to do anything about it.

The two of them are quiet as they walk through the city, and though Magnus had said he wanted to talk, Alec gets the impression he’s quite comfortable strolling in silence. He doesn’t try to take Alec’s hand, so Alec stuffs them in his pockets and looks around at everyone passing them by as they walk. What is it like, to have your life going on as normal? What is it like to not be trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of death and loss?

Alec envies them, in some ways. 

He holds the door for Magnus as they enter their apartment building, to which Magnus gives him a small smile. They climb the stairs slowly, and Alec tries to hold on to each second of being with Magnus, even though they’re not doing anything other than being in each other’s company.

“Thank you for walking with me,” Magnus says, when they reach their corridor. “Sorry I didn’t say much.”

“It’s fine,” Alec says immediately. “You’ve got a lot on your mind.”

Magnus nods, pausing with his hand in his pocket. He plucks out his keys and unlocks his door, then turns to lean on the doorframe. He scratches absently at a flake of paint with his thumb. “How about you? What were you thinking about?”

Alec swallows. “I just - I -” he breaks off, fumbling for words. “I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know how to make it better.”

“This isn’t something you  _ can _ fix, Alec,” Magnus says. He watches the flake of paint flutter to the floor, his expression pained. “I’m not saying that to make you feel bad, I’m just saying it. None of us can fix it. There’s nothing we can do.” Magnus draws in a shaky breath, his hand tightening around the doorframe so hard his knuckles go white. “Raphael’s dead. That’s it. Now we go on.”

“Now we go on,” Alec repeats. He wants to scream and rage against the unfairness of the world and he wants Magnus to  _ let him in _ . His fingers itch with the need to  _ do  _ something, make things better  _ somehow _ , but Magnus is right. 

They can’t do anything now; they can’t change what’s happened. The only thing they can do is pick up the pieces and try and rebuild their shattered lives. And Alec is there, waiting to take Magnus’ hand, but - 

Magnus’ still hasn’t looked at him. 

“What do you need?” Alec asks softly, carefully.

Magnus drops his hand from the doorframe, breath shuddering. “Look, I need...I need to say something.”

Alec’s heart hammers in his chest, thudding behind his ribs as a sense of foreboding panic sweeps through him, bowling him over. Magnus’ fingers tap together, drumming a preoccupied beat as he finally,  _ finally,  _ looks at Alec. 

“The other day,” he begins, “I don’t know if you realised how serious I was when I said I was glad you’re okay.” Magnus’ brow furrows. “I was so worried about you, going up against Valentine on your own and...I don’t know what I would have done if you’d been hurt or - if you’d been hurt, too.”

Alec nods. He can’t imagine what it must have been like for Magnus and Izzy and Jace, watching him from the sidelines - worse, in fact, for Magnus, because he knew two of the people he was closest to in the world were up there fighting for their lives. 

He reaches out to take Magnus’ hand, then thinks better of it, letting his hand drop lamely in mid air. 

“I know,” Alec says sincerely, the words scraping his throat. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I put you through that.” Magnus’ expression falters. “I couldn’t have done it on my own - Raphael, he saved my life. Magnus, he -”

Alec breaks off when Magnus glances away, something raw and painful shuddering over his face as he draws in a deep breath. Alec clamps his mouth shut, biting his lower lip so hard he breaks the skin and tastes blood. 

The silence between them is charged. Magnus’ jaw clenches and he slowly turns to look at Alec, exhaling before facing him directly. There’s something determined about him now; a surety he’d been lacking since they’d set off from the funeral. 

Suddenly, irrevocably, Alec knows what Magnus is about to do.

“Magnus,” Alec says, the name falling from his lips like the plea it is. It’s like he’s standing in the surf as a wave approaches, growing and growing as it draws nearer, ready to wash away every last part of him. Alec stands hopelessly in the sand and babbles. “We can get through this. We can. When Hodge - when Hodge died, I don’t know what I would have done without you, and I’m here for you, just like that. Whatever you need you can take from me. Magnus -”

Magnus’ attention is all on Alec; he’s listening intently to what Alec’s saying, but Alec can see in his eyes that it’s not going to make a difference. Nothing he can say is going to change Magnus’ mind and the wave is going to crash down any second. 

Words have never felt so inadequate. He can’t even explain how much Magnus means to him and how  _ much  _ he feels for Magnus. How much their relationship means to him. Alec doesn’t want to lose any part of what they have, what they’ve been building and nurturing. Magnus slots into every part of his life so easily that losing him is going to be like wrenching his heart out of his chest. 

Magnus cups Alec’s cheek, curling his fingers into Alec’s hair and over the shell of his ear. Alec closes his eyes and leans desperately into the touch. He can hear Magnus’ breathing in the silence of the corridor. 

Too soon, Magnus is letting his hand fall from Alec’s face. 

“That was different,” Magnus says quietly. “I wish, more than anything, that it wasn’t like this, but everytime I look at you I see Raphael. I think about him dying.” Tears well in his eyes. “I don’t blame you, Alec. I  _ don’t _ . But it’s too much right now.”

Alec hears the unspoken words:  _ you’re too much right now _ . He blinks back tears himself, a lump in his throat that makes it hard to breathe.

“No,” Alec says breathlessly, selfish and panicky and immediately disgusted with himself.

“I can’t be around you right now,” Magnus says. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, his expression is clearer. His voice doesn’t waver when he says, “I’m sorry, Alexander. I need space. I need time away from you so I can grieve and start to move on.”

“Magnus,” Alec says, voice croaky. Magnus shakes his head, smiling sadly. 

“You said anything I need.  _ This  _ is what I need.”

Alec watches through tear-blurred vision as Magnus takes a deep breath and turns away for the final time, striding into his apartment and shutting the door behind him. He watches as the door closes in his face and he watches as everything falls apart right in front of him. 

It takes a moment for it to hit him. When it does, he feels sick, and he stumbles back, landing heavily against his front door. Alec runs a ragged hand through his hair, pulling until it hurts and squeezing his eyes shut. 

Every time Magnus looks at him he sees Raphael dying. Alec hadn’t known it was possible to hate himself this much; he doesn’t know how Magnus could even stand to be around him. And selfishly, Alec had tried to stop Magnus from breaking his heart, when the whole time Alec had been breaking Magnus’.

He doesn’t realises the tears have fallen until he tastes the salt of his tears on his lips, and he swipes them away angrily. He has no right to feel like this. It’s time for him to push aside his own feelings and put Magnus first - he’d promised Raphael he’d keep Magnus safe, and, right now, this is how he keeps Magnus safe. By giving him time alone.

If it destroys Alec in the process, then so be it.

He pushes himself off the door frame and trudges into his apartment. It’s empty save for Jace’s gym bag dumped in the hallway, which Alec nearly trips over on his way to his room. He flops face down on his bed and buries his face in his pillow, not even trying not to cry.

Alec doesn’t know how much later it is when his phone starts ringing, startling him out of his thoughts. He pushes himself up sluggishly and reaches for his phone, clearing his throat a couple of times before he picks up.

“Hey, Izzy,” he says, voice feeling rusty.

Izzy’s tone is soft when she replies. “Hey, Alec. I just wanted to check how you were - I know Raphael’s funeral was today.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, running a hand through his hair and holding the phone away from his face as he lets out a shaky breath and tries to pull himself together. “Thanks for calling.”

“How’s Magnus?” Izzy asks. 

“He’s okay,” Alec says, the words feeling like glass in his throat, “he’s good. Not good - you know. He’s. He will be fine -”

“Hey,” Izzy says, cutting off the nonsense he’s babbling, “what’s happened?”

Alec’s breath shudders and he sniffles before he answers her. “Nothing. It’s all fine. It was the right thing to do.”

_ “Alec _ . Have you been crying?”

“He needs time away from me, Iz,” Alec says, shaking his head. “I think we broke up.” He presses his fingers into his eyes, trying to ignore the tears burning hot against his eyelids again. “I’m no good for him.”

“Alexander Lightwood,” Izzy says sternly, “if there’s one thing you are, it’s good. Anyone who has a problem with that can talk to me.”

It’s a while before Alec can speak again, his throat thick with emotion.

“Thanks, Iz,” he murmurs. “I love you.”

Izzy’s sigh is a gust of static over the phone. “Oh, Alec,” she says, “I love you, too.”

___

“Is he okay?” Maia asks as Izzy hangs up the call and puts her phone down. Izzy sighs, shaking her head sadly. She looks up to see Maia’s concerned gaze fixed on her; she feels her shoulders sag as she lets go of the strong act she’s been trying to put up for her big brother. 

“No,” she says, feeling hopeless. “He could barely speak. Apparently he and Magnus have broken up and I’m not convinced he was telling the truth when he said Magnus was fine about everything that happened with Raphael.”

Izzy runs a hand raggedly through her hair, pushing the dark strands back from her face. 

“I don’t know what to say to him,” she continues. “I can’t lie to him and tell him everything’s gonna be okay, but he needs something good in his life right now. Losing Hodge and now Raphael, it’s taking its toll on him.”

Maia hums in agreement, her gaze shrewd as she regards Izzy. “It must be hard for you, too,” she says. “You’ve lost as much as Alec has. How are you dealing with it?”

Izzy glances away, licking her lips before she answers. “I don’t think it’s affected me as much - I wasn’t there to witness either of them dying. Alec was.”

Maia nods. She puts down her pen and Izzy feels the full weight of Maia’s attention directed at her. “They still meant a lot to you, though, especially Hodge.” Maia clicks her tongue and then picks up her pen again. She scans her page for a moment before looking up at Izzy with a soft smile. “I’m just saying, I’m here for you if you want to talk about anything.”

Izzy smiles back at her. Maia’s kindness and the warmth in her brown eyes as she looks at Izzy makes Izzy brave enough to reach across the table and take Maia’s free hand in her own. “Thank you,” she says sincerely, hoping Maia can tell how grateful she is. “I will.”

Maia squeezes her hand and then gestures to the papers in front of them. “Should we get back to it?”

The two of them are going through job adverts and internship opportunities, trying to get ahead of everyone else who’s been kicked to the curb since Idris Corp shut down. None of them are really sure what’s happening, but since Valentine died and they’ve heard nothing directly from Magnus, Maia and Izzy don’t really have anyone to report to.

They’d started interning at Idris Corp at the same time, so it seems fitting to Izzy that they should help each other out. She counts Maia as one of her good friends now, but even before that, Maia had unknowingly become Izzy’s rock when Hodge died. She kept Izzy focussed on work so she didn’t have to think about Hodge dying, which was pretty much the best way to make Izzy’s world return to normal.

Even without Maia’s compassion, Izzy’s sure it wouldn’t have taken her long to fall for her. She tries to push any thoughts of that aside and focus on the task in front of them.

“If we have to,” Izzy grumbles, and Maia snorts a laugh.

“Please,” she says, “you’ll have no problem getting another placement. People love you.”

Izzy raises an eyebrow, but she can’t help being pleased at Maia’s comment. “ _ Neither  _ of us will have any problems,” she says firmly. “Didn’t you say you’d already had two interviews with Fae Folk Inc?”

Maia shrugs a shoulder, the corner of her lips tugging upwards in a smile. She doodles something on the corner of her draft statement and says, with fake nonchalance, “Yeah, I guess.”

Izzy laughs a little. “They’re the ones who are into green tech and sustainability, right?”

“Yeah,” Maia says. “Their research guy, Meliorn - he’s Magnus’ equivalent - is great. He took me on a tour of the labs and talked me through some of the projects they’re working on. Apparently they’re sector leaders in bioremediation.”

“You should get Aldertree to give you a reference, then,” Izzy suggests, trying to keep calm at the sight of Maia so energetic and engaged about the research she might get to be a part of. She doesn’t think Maia knows how cute she is. 

“He wouldn’t,” Maia says, shaking her head. “I’d ask Magnus, but…” she trails off.

“Yeah,” Izzy says, sighing again. “Well, if they’ve given you two interviews, they clearly like you. They can see you’re brilliant, just like I can.”

Maia meets her eye, something in the way she’s looking at Izzy that makes Izzy wonder if her feelings might not be as one-sided as she first thought. Maia lets her gaze linger over Izzy’s face, then she looks back to her paper. 

“Distracting me with compliments so you can steal my placement?” Maia asks, sounding amused. “I thought better of you, Lightwood.” 

Izzy laughs again. As she turns back to her own applications, she catches Maia smiling to herself, looking pleased. Izzy realises she feels lighter just from being around Maia and having someone who she can be herself with, no pretence needed. 

It’s not until she goes to turn the page that she realises they’re still holding hands. When she’s done, she’s not sure who ends up smiling more when Maia links their fingers together again.

___

It’s weirdly nostalgic, being back in Hodge’s house - and that’s still how Alec thinks of it. It probably will always be Hodge’s house to him.

He’s dropped by to stay with Izzy and Max for a few days now that he’s finished his finals, which means he can both spend time with his siblings and give Magnus the space he needs to start healing. Sleeping in his childhood room and seeing so much of his youngest siblings takes him right back to being in high school, but it’s not unpleasant. Max has even started getting good enough to put up a fight against Alec when they play FIFA. 

Ever so slowly, things are beginning to go back to normal.

Izzy’s been spending a suspicious amount of time at Maia’s house, and one day when she gets back, Alec is ready to tease her over her crush when she walks through the door. But then he spots how wide her smile is and decides to leave it - Izzy deserves some happiness in her life after all that the whole family have been through in the past few months, and Alec doesn’t want to be the one to take that away from her. 

Regardless, they’re there for him. Jace texts him a few times a day even if Alec forgets to answer, Izzy buys a 5,000 piece puzzle one day and makes Alec solve it with her, claiming it’s just like the old days, and Max challenges Alec to video games, and even though Alec knows Max is incredible at them, Max lets him win sometimes, just so that Alec feels good. 

It’s a little coddling, but it’s also nice. It reminds Alec that he has people to lean on. He has a family, and even though Magnus isn’t in his life anymore ( _ for now _ , his heart adds hopefully), he still has other people who love him and care for him. Alec spends his entire life looking out for his siblings, and just once, he lets himself be the one who needs help. What’s so wrong with needing a shoulder to cry on? 

Alec’s heart aches every day, from the loss of a friend he never really knew and a man he knew he could have easily fallen in love with, but he takes each day as it comes. Spiderman stays off the streets, and while the news reporters are confused, even wondering if Spiderman is alive at this point, Alec knows his head isn’t clear enough to go back out there. Spiderman comes second - right now he needs to work on Alec Lightwood. 

The past few days have felt like an eternity - every day does now - and he finds himself sitting at the dining room table picking at his food, his mind elsewhere. 

Izzy’s phone dings from the table, and she picks it up, swiping at a notification before furrowing her eyebrows and setting it back down with a sigh. She meets Alec’s questioning eyes and shrugs a shoulder. 

“Duncan was asking about jobs and stuff. He’s been asking about the - the Valentine situation and I’ve just stopped responding,” Izzy said, pushing her sushi around. “It’s just exhausting to talk about.” 

Alec blinks, averting his gaze awkwardly. “I’m sorry,” he says. He’s not exactly sure what he’s apologizing for, but it feels like he owes everyone an apology lately. 

“Don’t - Alec. It’s not your fault,” Izzy says. “Who would have guessed that Valentine was some sort of evil mad scientist?” She scoffs, her voice turning bitter, and Alec watches her carefully. “Certainly not me. I just trusted him blindly like some idiot.” 

“Izzy,” Alec says, leaning forward. It feels like a broken record. Everyone feels like shit about the situation. Luke feels partly to blame for Raphael’s death, Izzy is holding onto the burden of trusting Valentine, Magnus is dealing with his own demons, and Alec - well, Alec definitely feels like he was the catalyst for a ll this pain. “You didn’t know.”

“Maybe,” Alec says, licking his lips and trying to smile when she meets his eye. “Maybe we both need to stop blaming ourselves. Maybe all of our friends need to do that too.” 

“Maybe,” Izzy responds, but her smile seems a little less strained. 

There’s an awkward silence for a second and then Izzy shoots Alec a look. “Do you blame Spiderman, then? For this mess?” 

She doesn’t say anything more but Alec hears the accusation that goes unspoken, and it hits uncomfortably close to the truths Alec has to deal with when he gets too lost in his thoughts. He shifts in his seat, glancing down at his plate.

“I don’t know,” he says eventually, and it feels like the only honest thing he can say. 

Izzy rolls her eyes. “Max said no one at school has heard anything about Spiderman,” she says. “They saw him on the top of the tower and then he just disappeared.”

“I can’t go back to it, Izzy,” Alec says, allowing some frustration to bleed into his voice. “Not yet. Not now.”

Izzy watches him, then shrugs and returns to her sushi. “Okay, big brother,” she says, and the two of them finish eating in silence. When they’re done, he clears the plates, and just as they’re about to head through to the living room to watch TV Izzy stops him and wraps her arms around him. He hugs her back just as tightly, grateful to have her support and hoping he can give the same to her.

A few hours later, when Izzy is napping and Alec is half watching some basketball game on TV, his phone buzzes from the coffee table, a notification telling him his voicemails are going to be deleted tomorrow. He clicks onto it and listens to the voicemail in his inbox.

“Alec,” Hodge’s voice says in his ear, and, fuck, it’s like someone just knocked him over. The blow is tinged with hurt and loss around the edges, but mostly Alec is just overwhelmed at hearing Hodge’s voice again. He didn’t realise how much he’d missed him.

With a watery laugh, he realises he’s so lost in emotion that he hasn’t been listening to the message, so he replays it. 

“Alec, I know things have been difficult lately, and I’m sorry about that. I think I know what you’re feeling. Ever since you were a little boy, you’ve been living with so many unresolved things. Well, take it from me, those things make us who we are. And if anyone is destined for greatness, it’s you, Alec.”

Alec’s chest grows tight and he sucks in a br eath. His eyes dart across the room as he tries to blink back the tears he feels forming and it’s then that they land on the newspaper perched on the edge of the coffee table. The main article is an exposé Valentine, the second titled “WHERE ARE YOU, SPIDERMAN?”. The voicemail continues playing, and the lump in Alec’s throat feels almost suffocating. 

“You owe the world your gifts, you just have to figure out how to use them. And know, that wherever they take you, we’ll always be here.” A tear rolls down Alec’s cheek at Hodge’s next words. “You’re my son, Alec. And I love you.” 

The whole moment is bittersweet. Alec feels so loved and so grateful to Hodge, but his heart is broken knowing that they’re never going to see him again. He stares down a t the newspaper cover, thinking, inexplicably, that maybe Hodge knew that Alec would become Spiderman. That maybe,  Alec listening to this voicemail right now, with the specific newspaper headline staring up at him, it is fate. 

Spiderman may be on pause right now, but he won’t be gone forever.

Alec hits play again, and listens to the message over and over. 

___

Alec stays with Izzy and Max for another few days. Eventually, Jace calls him to complain about their apartment being lonely and having no one to share doing the dishes with, so Alec laughs and tells him he’ll be home the next day. 

He gets back to the apartment block around lunch time. There’s a bunch of removal men blocking the entrance, shouting to each other as they try to get some antique wardrobe through a door that’s definitely not big enough. 

Alec watches them, half annoyed, half amused, and eventually they get it through. He’s mildly surprised when, as he follows the movers up the stairs, they go all the way to his floor. He’s not heard anything from the two women who live on their floor, though Jace is more likely to talk to the neighbours than Alec himself. 

The men call to each other about getting the bulky furniture through the next doorway, and from behind the wardrobe Alec can see Magnus’ apartment door is open. 

He almost wants to turn around and head back out the building - he’s not sure whether Magnus is ready to see him yet, so he doesn’t want to burden him. He knows Magnus well enough to know that he likes to change and refresh his style when he feels a situation is out of his control, but he’s  not sure the wardrobe is Magnus’ kind of thing at all.

Alec shakes his head and decides he’s being stupid. This is  _ Magnus _ he’s talking about. Even if Alec accidentally bumped into him, Magnus wouldn’t hold it against him. Alec does live in the apartment opposite, after all, and he isn’t going to pressure Magnus into anything. He’s intimately familiar with how it feels to have your family taken from you, so he’s going to give Magnus all the space he needs.

He waits until the removal men have disappeared into Magnus’ apartment, then hurries to unlock his own front door. He’s just managed to get it open when a voice calls out to him.

“Oh, hi there,” a man says, standing in the corridor outside Magnus’ apartment. He’s slim and fairly tall, holding a grocery bag under one arm. 

He sends Alec a brilliant smile and runs a hand through his blonde hair, shining from the light inside Magnus’ apartment. 

Alec glances back at him with a frown. “Hey,” he says flatly. 

He’s not sure what this guy is doing in front of Magnus’ apartment like he owns the place. His accent sounds British, but Alec knows it’s not Ragnor, because he met him at Raphael’s funeral a couple of weeks ago. The man laughs kindly at Alec’s expression. 

“Sorry, of course, we haven’t met yet.” He shunts the bag onto one hip and holds out his free hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” he says, still smiling. “I’m your new neighbour, Sebastian.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **the adventure will continue in _The Mercy of Perfect Sunlight_** , aka spiderman au part 2!! 
> 
> thank you all so much for sticking with us through this fic. we’ve loved writing it so much, we’ve put so much love and time into it and we’re so grateful for everyone who’s commented and kudos’d and shared. this is the first multichapter fic elle’s ever written and the first collab either of us have ever done, and doing it on a project that we’re both so passionate about and have worked so hard on has truly been an amazing experience. thank u for sharing it with us!!
> 
> it’s been so hard to keep it a secret but now we can finally say there is going to be a second part!! we’re super excited to share it with you but we haven’t started writing it yet - we both have other projects to work on first, charl has just got a new job and elle is dying (figuratively, of course) so we can’t promise when posting will start, but we hope to start working on it soon!! 
> 
> we want to spend as much time on it and give it as much love as the first one so we’re not gonna rush - but be sure to subscribe to the series so you can get the update of when we post pt2!! 
> 
> **update/edit:** just in case anyone is wondering/worrying, the plot of pt2 is original and doesn't follow _the amazing spiderman 2_ \- major character death will never be a part of this story!!
> 
> thank you all again - so so much. we love you!
> 
> xx, elle & charl

**Author's Note:**

> chat fic with us on tumblr @[alecsimon](http://alecsimon.tumblr.com) and @[katlisha](http://katlisha.tumblr.com)!! you can also yell at us now on twitter - elle is [here](https://twitter.com/magnusbanes_) and charl is [here](https://twitter.com/lukegarroways_)!!


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